USURY 


A  Scriptural,  Ethical  and 
Economic  View 


BY 


CALVIN  ELLIOTT 


• . 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  ANTI-USURY  LEAGUE 

MII,I,ERSBURG,   OHIO 


SENERAL 


COPYRIGHTED  1902 

BY 

CALVIN  ELLIOTT. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  I  —  Definition    ......................     7 

Chapter  II—  The  Law  by  Moses  ..............   11 

Chapter  III—  Usury  and  "The  Stranger"  .......   18 

Chapter  IV  —  David  and  Solomon  ............   26 

Chapter  V  —  Denunciation  of  Jeremiah  and  Eze- 

kiel   .....................  30 

Chapter  VI  —  Financial  Reform  by  Nehemiah  ...   36 
Chapter  VII—  Teachings  of  the  Master  ........   42 

Chapter  VIII—  Parables  of  the  Talents  and  the 

Pounds  ..................   52 

Chapter  IX  —  Practice  of  the  disciples  ..........   58 

Chapter  X  —  Church  history  ..................    69 

Chapter  XI  —  Calvin's  letter  on  usury  ..........   73 

Chapter  XII  —  Permanency  of  the  prohibition  .  .  .   79 
Chapter  XIII  —  Our  changed  conditions  ........   81 

Chapter  XIV  —  The  American  Revision  ........   87 

Chapter  XV  —  Duty  learned  from  two  sources  ...   93 
Chapter  XVI  —  Rights  of  man  over  things  ......   97 

Chapter  XVII—  Equal  rights  of  men  ..........  102 

Chapter  XVIII  —  A  false  basal  principle  ........  108 

Chapter  XIX  —  The  true  ethical  principle  .......  115 

Chapter  XX—  Wealth  is  barren  ...............  121 


CONTENTS-CONTINUED. 

Page. 

Chapter  XXI— Wealth  decays 132 

Chapter  XXII— The  debt  habit   138 

Chapter  XXIII — The  borrower  is  servant  to  the 

lender 144 

Chapter  XXIV — Usury  enslaves  the  borrower.  .146 

Chapter  XXV — Usury  oppresses  the  poor 154 

Chapter  XXVI — Usury  -  oppresses    the    poor — 

continued    160 

Chapter  XXVII — Usury   oppresses   the   poor — 

continued    168 

Chapter  XXVIII — Usury  oppresses  the  poor- 
concluded  174 

Chapter  XXIX — Usury  centralizes'wealth 180 

Chapter  XXX — Mammon  dominates  the  nations. 189 

Chapter  XXXI — Effect  on  character 206 

Chapter  XXXII— Ax  at  the  root  of  the  tree 219 

Chapter  XXXIII — Per  contra;  Christian  Apolo- 
gists   ...233 

Chapter  XXXIV— Per  contra;  Land  Rentals. .  .243 
Chapter  XXXV — Per  contra;   Political   Econo- 
mists     253 

Chapter  XXXVI— Usury  in  History 258 

Chapter  XXXVII— Francis  Bacon 266 

Chapter  XXXVIII— Why  this  truth  was  neg- 
lected    2Y2 

Chapter  XXXIX— Crushed  truth  will  rise  again.281 
Index  ............... 293 


TO  MY  READERS. 

I  beg  the  sincere  and  thoughtful  consideration  of 
this  book  fry  all  its  readers.  Please  follow  the  argu- 
ment in  the  order  in  which  it  is  presented.  This  is 
the  way  it  developed  in  my  own  mind  and  led  me, 
step  by  step,  irresistibly  to  its  conclusions.  Do  not 
read  the  closing  chapters  first,  but  begin  with  the 
"Definition."  I  believe  every  candid  reader  doing 
this,  and  having  a  logical  mind,  will  fully  and  heartily 
concur  in  the  condemnation  of  usury. 

I  hope  these  arguments  will  be  fairly  treated  and 
justly  weighed  even  by  those  whose  interests  seem  in 
conflict.  I  have  simply  sought  the  truth,  believing 
that  "the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  It  cannot  be 
that  this  or  any  truth  is  in  real  conflict  with  the  high- 
est welfare  of  any  man. 

If  any  sincere  friends  of  this  truth  are  grieved  that 
the  argument  is  so  crudely  and  roughly  stated,  I  can 
only  say  in  excuse,  that,  so  far  as  I  know  or  can  learn 
from  the  great  librarians  I  have  consulted,  this  is  the 
first  attempt  ever  made  to  fully  present  the  anti-usury 
argument,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  others,  profiting 
by  my  effort,  may  be  able  to  make  it  more  effective. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


OF  THE 

{   tffilYERSITY  ) 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEFINITION. 

In  the  evolution  of  the  English  language,  since  the 
making  of  our  King  James  version  of  the  Bible,  many 
new  words  have  been  introduced,  and  many  old  ones 
have  changed  their  meanings. 

In  the  nearly  three  hundred  years  the  Saxon  word 
"let,"  to  hinder,  has  become  obsolete.  It  was  in  com- 
mon use  and  well  understood  when  the  version  was 
made,  but  is  now  misleading.  Thus  we  have  in  Isaiah 
43:  13:  "I  will  work  and  who  will  let  (hinder)  it?" 
Paul  declared  that  he  purposed  to  go  to  Rome,  "but 
was  let  (hindered)  hitherto."  Rom.  1  :  13.  Again 
we  have  in  II  Thess.  2  :  7  :  "Only  he  who  now  letteth 
(hindereth)  will  let  (hinder),  until  he  be  taken  out  of 
the  way." 

"Wot,"  to  know,  has  become  obsolete.  Gen.  21:26: 
"I  wot  (know)  not  who  hath  done  this  thing."  Ex. 
32  :  1  :  "As  for  this  Moses,  we  wot  (know)  not  what 
hath  become  of  him."  Acts  3  :  17  :  "I  wot  (know) 
that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it." 

"Prevent,"  from  its  derivation  and  use,  meant,  "to 
go  before  ;"  now  it  means  to  hinder.  Ps.  59  :  10  : 
"The  God  of  my  mercies  shall  prevent  (go  before) 
me."  Ps.  92  :  2  :  "Let  us  prevent  (go  before)  his 
face  with  thanksgiving."  I  Thess.  4  :  15  :  "We  who 

(7) 


8      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

are  alive  shall  not  prevent  (go  before)  them  who  are 
asleep." 

Charity,  which  now  means  liberality  to  the  poor, 
and  a  disposition  to  judge  others  kindly  and  favorably, 
was  at  that  time  a  synonym  of  love,  and  used  inter- 
changeably with  love  in  the  translations  of  the  Greek. 
This  is  especially  noted  in  the  panegyric  of  love,  in  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  and  faithfully 
corrected  in  the  Revised  Version,  though  some  have 
felt  that  the  beauty  and  especially  the  euphony  of  the 
familiar  passage  has  been  marred.  But  the  word 
charity  is  no  longer  equivalent  to  love,  in  our  lan- 
guage, and  could  not  be  retained  without  perverting 
the  sense. 

Usury,  when  the  version  was  made,  meant  any 
premium  for  a  loan  of  money,  or  increase  taken  for  a 
loan  of  any  kind  of  property. 

Theological  Dictionary:  "Usury,  the  gain  taken 
for  a  loan  of  money  or  wares."  "The  gain  of  any- 
thing above  the  principal,  or  that  which  was  lent, 
exacted  only  in  consideration  of  the  loan,  whether  it 
be  in  money,  corn,  wares  or  the  like." 

Bible  Encyclopedia:  "Usury,  a  premium  received 
for  a  sum  of  money  over  and  above  the  principal." 

Schaff-Herzog :  "Usury,  originally,  any  increase 
on  any  loan." 

This  was  the  usage  of  the  word  usury  by  the  great 
masters  of  the  English  language,  like  Shakespeare 
and  Bacon,  in  their  day,  and  is  still  given  as  the  first 
definition  by  the  lexicographers  of  the  present. 


Definition.  9 

Webster,  1890  edition:  "Usury,  1.  A  premium 
or  increase  paid  or  stipulated  to  be  paid  for  a  loan,  as 
for  money-;  interest.  2.  The  practice  of  taking 
interest.  3.  Law.  Interest  in  excess  of  a  legal  rate 
charged  to  a  borrower  for  the  use  of  money." 

Interest  is  comparatively  a  new  word  in  the  lan- 
guage meaning  also  a  premium  for  a  loan  of  money. 
It  first  appeared  in  the  fourteenth  century,  as  a 
substitute  for  usury,  in  the  first  law  ever  enacted  by  a 
Christian  nation  that  permitted  the  taking  of  a 
premium  for  any  loan.  The  word  usury  was  very 
odious  to  the  Christian  mind  and  conscience. 

Interest  was  at  the  first  a  legal  term,  used  in  law 
only,  and  it  has  always  been  applied  to  that  premium 
or  measure  of  increase  that  is  permitted  or  made  legal 
by  civil  law. 

In  modern  usage  usury  is  limited  in  its  meaning  to 
that  measure  of  increase  prohibited  by  the  civil  law. 
Thus  the  two  words  interest  and  usury  now  express 
what  was  formerly  expressed  by  the  one  word  usury 
alone.  Interest  covers  that  measure  of  increase  that 
is  authorized  in  different  countries,  while  usury,  with 
all  the  odium  that  has  been  attached  to  it  for  ages,  is 
limited  to  that  measure  of  increase  that  for  public 
welfare  is  forbidden  by  the  laws  of  a  state. 

The  distinction  is  wholly  civic  and  legal.  That 
may  be  usury  in  one  state  which  is  only  interest  in 
another.  The  legal  rates  greatly  vary  and  are  changed 
from  time  to  time  in  the  states  themselves.  If  a  state 


10       Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

should  forbid  the  taking  of  any  increase  on  loans,  then 
all  increase  would  be  usury,  and  there  could  be  no 
interest ;  or  if  a  state  should  repeal  all  laws  limiting  the 
exactions  of  increase,  then  there  would  be  no  usury 
in  that  state.  Usury  is  increase  forbidden  by  civil 
law.  Separated  from  the  enacted  statutes  of  a  state 
the  distinction  disappears.  There  is  no  moral  nor  is 
there  an  economic  difference. 

Blackstone  says :  "When  money  is  lent  on  a  con- 
tract to  receive  not  only  the  principal  sum  again,  but 
also  an  increase  by  way  of  compensation  for  the  use, 
the  increase  is  called  interest  by  those  who  think  it 
lawful,  and  usury  by  those  who  do  not." 

The  moral  nature  of  an  act  does  not  depend  on  the 
enacted  statutes  of  human  legislators,  and  the  laws  of 
economics  are  eternal.  We  must  not  permit  our 
views  of  divine  and  economic  truth  to  be  perverted 
by  this  modern  division  of  increase  into  legal  and 
illegal.  In  order  that  the  whole  truth  may  be  now 
expressed  in  our  language  we  must  combine  with  the 
old  word  usury  the  new  word  interest;  then  only  will 
we  have  the  full  force  of  the  revealed  truth.  "Where- 
fore then  gavest  not  thou  my  money  into  the  bank, 
that  at  my  coming  I  might  have  required  mine  own 
with  usury  or  interest?"  It  is  rendered  interest  in  the 
Revised  Version. 

Throughout  this  discussion  usury  is  used  in  its  full 
old  classical  meaning  for  any  increase  of  a  loan,  great 
or  small,  whether  authorized  or  forbidden  by  the  civil 
state. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  LAW  BY  MOSES. 

God  determined  to  deliver  his  enslaved  people  from 
the  bondage  in  Egypt,  and  to  lead  them  out  to  the 
land  he  had  promised  to  their  fathers.  They  had  been 
strangers  in  Egypt ;  now  they  should  have  a  land  of 
their  own.  To  them  liberty  was  but  a  tradition ;  they 
should  now  be  freemen.  They  had  been  a  tribe;  they 
should  now  be  a  nation. 

God  raised  up  Moses  to  be  his  special  servant  and 
the  mouthpiece  to  declare  his  will.  He  ordered  his 
marvelous  deliverance  from  the  river,  and  his  training 
in  court  as  a  freeman.  He  then  gave  him  direction 
to  lead  his  people  out  of  their  slavery,  and  also  divine 
authority  to  announce  to  his  people  the  code  of  laws 
by  which  they  were  to  be  governed  in  their  free  state. 
Some  of  these  laws  were  ceremonial,  to  conserve  their 
religion,  that  they  might  not  forget  their  God.  Some 
were  civil  and  politic,  to  promote  the  moral,  intel- 
lectual and  material  welfare.  All  were  in  accord  with 
the  moral  and  religious  nature  of  man,  and  with  sound 
economic  principles.  All  were  suited  to  promote  their 
highest  good,  and  to  secure  them  forever  in  their 
freedom  and  national  independence. 

The  great  basal  principles  of  law  are  found  in  con- 
crete form. 

(11) 


12          Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Human  life  is  sacred  as  we  find  from  the  explicit 
laws  for  its  protection.  The  owner  of  an  ox  was 
made  responsible  for  the  life  taken  by  "an  ox  that  was 
known  to  push  with  its  horns." 

A  battlement  or  balustrade  was  required  on  the 
houses,  very  like  our  laws  requiring  fire  escapes.  The 
principle  is  the  same. 

The  laws  forbidding  marriage  within  certain  de- 
grees of  kinship  have  been  copied  into  the  laws  of 
every  civilized  people.  The  laws  for  the  preservation 
of  social  purity  have  never  been  surpassed. 

The  rights  of  property  were  sacred.  Each  had  a 
right  to  his  own.  Theft  was  severely  punished.  "If 
a  thief  be  found  breaking  up,  and  be  smitten  that  he 
die,  there  shall  no  blood  be  shed  for  him." 

Each  must  assist  in  the  protection  of  the  property 
of  others;  even  the  enemy's  property  must  be  pro- 
tected. "If  thou  meet  thine  enemy's  ox  or  his  ass 
going  astray,  thou  shalt  surely  bring  it  back  to  him 
again." 

The  laws  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  were  kinder  and 
more  encouraging  to  self-help  and  self-reliance  than 
our  modern  poorhouses.  Deut.  15  :  7-11 :  "If  there 
be  among  you  a  poor  man  of  one  of  thy  brethren 
within  any  of  thy  gates  in  thy  land  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  giveth  thee,  thou  shalt  not  harden  thine 
heart,  nor  shut  thine  hand  from  thy  poor  brother ;  but 
thou  shalt  open  thine  hand  wide  unto  him,  and  shalt 
surely  lend  him  sufficient  for  his  need,  in  that  which  he 


The  Law  by  Moses.  13 

wanteth.  Beware  that  there  be  not  a  thought  in  thy 
wicked  heart,  saying,  The  seventh  year,  the  year  of 
release,  is  at  hand;  and  thine  eye  be  evil  against  thy 
poor  brother,  and  thou  givest  him  naught,  and  he  cry 
unto  the  Lord  against  thee,  and  it  be  sin  unto  thee. 
Thou  shalt  surely  give  him,  and  thine  heart  shall  not 
be  grieved  when  thou  givest  unto  him:  because  that 
for  this  thing  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  bless  thee  in  all 
thy  works,  and  in  all  that  thou  puttest  thine  hand 
unto.  For  the  poor  shall  never  cease  out  of  the  land ; 
therefore  T  command  thee,  saying,  Thou  shalt  open 
thine  hand  wide  unto  thy  brother,  to  thy  poor,  and  to 
thy  needy,  in  thy  land." 

These  divinely  given  laws  never  wrought  injustice. 
They  protected  life,  purity  and  property,  and  required 
mutual  helpfulness.  They  were  given  by  the  divine 
mind,  in  infinite  love,  to  promote  the  highest  good  of 
this  chosen  people. 

These  laws  of  God,  given  by  Moses,  positively  for- 
bade usury  or  interest,  and  this  prohibition  was  so 
repeated  that  there  was  no  mistaking  the  meaning. 
Ex.  22 :  25  :  "If  thou  lend  money  to  any  of  my  people 
that  is  poor  by  thee,  thou  shalt  not  be  to  him  as  a 
usurer,  neither  shalt  thou  lay  upon  him  usury." 

This  law  is  more  fully  presented  in  Lev.  25 :  35,  36, 
37 :  "And  if  thy  brother  be  waxen  poor,  and  fallen 
into  decay  with  thee,  then  thou  shalt  relieve  him ;  yea, 
though  he  be  a  stranger,  or  a  sojourner;  that  he  may 
live  with  thee.  Take  thou  no  usury  of  him,  or 


14          Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

increase;  but  fear  thy  God;  that  thy  brother  may  live 
with  thee.  Thou  shalt  not  give  him  thy  money  upon 
usury,  or  lend  him  thy  victuals  for  increase." 

Prof.  George  Bush  makes  the  following  note  upon 
this  passage:  'The  original  term  'Neshek'  comes 
from  the  verb  'Nashak'  (to  bite),  mostly  applied  to 
the  bite  of  a  serpent;  and  probably  signifies  biting 
usury,  so  called  perhaps  because  it  resembled  the  bite 
of  a  serpent;  for  as  this  is  often  so  small  as  to  be 
scarcely  perceptible  at  first,  yet  the  venom  soon 
spreads  and  diffuses  itself  till  it  reaches  the  vitals,  so 
the  increase  of  usury,  which  at  first  is  not  perceived, 
at  length  grows  so  much  as  to  devour  a  man's  sub- 
stance." 

An  effort  is  sometimes  made  to  limit  the  application 
of  these  laws  by  placing  special  emphasis  on  the  pov- 
erty of  the  borrowers  and  to  confine  the  prohibition  of 
usury  to  loans  to  the  poor  to  meet  the  necessaries  of 
life;  and  it  is  claimed  that  the  laws  are  not  intended 
to  prohibit  usury  on  a  loan  which  the  borrower 
secures  as  capital  for  a  business. 

In  reply  it  can  be  said : 

1.  There  may  be  more  benevolence  in  a  loan 
to  enable  a  brother  to  go  into  business  than  in 
a  loan  to  supply  his  present  needs.  It  may  be  less 
benevolent  and  less  kind  to  lend  a  dollar  to  buy 
flour  for  present  use  than  to  lend  a  dollar  to  buy  a  hoe 
with  which  to  go  into  business  and  earn  the  flour. 


The  Law  by  Moses.  15 

The  highest  philanthropy  supplies  the  means  and 
opportunities  for  self-help. 

2.  A  desire  for  capital  to  promote  a  business  to 
gain  more  than  is  necessary  to  nourish  the  physical 
and  mental  manhood  is  not  justified  nor  encouraged 
anywhere  in  the  Word.     There  is  just  a  sufficiency  of 
food    necessary   to   the   highest    physical   condition. 
There  is  just  a  sufficiency  of  material  wealth  necessary 
to  the  development  of  the  noblest  manhood.     More 
decreases  physical  and  mental  vigor  and  degrades  the 
whole  man.      To  seek  more  is  of  the  nature  of  that 
"covetousness    which    is   idolatry."       Prov.    23:  4: 
"Labor  not  to  be  rich."      Prov.  28:  20:      "He  that 
maketh  haste  to  be  rich  shall  not  be  innocent." 

Riches  are  a  gift  of  God  and  a  reward  of  righteous- 
ness. 

Prov.  22 :  4 :  "The  reward  of  humility  and  the  fear 
of  the  Lord  are  riches  and  honor  and  life."  Psalm 
112 :  1,  3  :  "Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  the  Lord, 
that  delighteth  greatly  in  his  commandments.  *  *  * 
Wealth  and  riches  shall  be  in  his  house." 

"In  the  fourth  petition  of  the  Lord's  prayer  (which 
is:  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread)  we  pray,  That 
of  God's  free  gift,  we  may  receive  a  competent  portion 
of  the  good  things  of  this  life  and  enjoy  his  blessing 
with  them." 

3.  If  the  prohibition  is  applicable  only  when  the 
borrower  is  poor  it  would  be  difficult  to  properly 
apply  it  by  drawing  the  line  between  the  rich  and  the 


16     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

poor.  Many  who  are  rich  feel  that  they  are  poor  and 
there  are  many  high  spirited  poor  who  will  not  admit 
their  poverty.  Many  rich  live  in  conditions  that  some 
poor  would  call  poverty.  The  line  must  be  vague  and 
indefinite  and  always  offensive.  If  any  one  should 
endeavor  to  clearly  mark  and  emphasize  such  a  divis- 
ion in  any  modern  community  he  would  receive  the 
contempt  of  all  right  thinking  people. 

4.  The  laws  of  the  Hebrews  did  not  discriminate 
classes  except  in  their  ceremonial  and  forms  of  wor- 
ship.   There  was  but  one  law  and  that  applicable  to 
all  alike.     Even  the  stranger  was  included  in  the 
uniformity  of  the  law.       Num.   15:  15,  16:     "One 
ordinance  shall  be  both  for  you  of  the  congregation 
and  also  for  the  stranger  that  sojourneth  with  you, 
*     *     *     one  law  and  one  manner  shall  be  for  you 
and  for  the  stranger  that  sojourneth  with  you." 

5.  In  the  Hebrew  community  the  man  of  inde- 
pendent resources  did  not  compromise  his  freedom 
by  becoming  indebted  to  another.     Debt  was  a  sure 
indication  of  some  embarrassment  or  strait.       The 
mention  of  the  poverty  of  the  possible  debtor  is  not 
to  limit  the  application  of  the  law  but  describes  the 
borrower.       Thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury  to  the 
poor  unfortunate  fellow  who  is  compelled  to  ask  a 
loan. 

6.  The  laws  of  the  Hebrew  state  were  for  the  pro- 
motion of  equity  between  man  and  man  and  also  for 


The  Law  by  Moses.  17 

the  protection  of  the  weak  and  the  helpless.  With 
these  objects  all  good  governments  must  be  in 
harmony.  They  can  only  be  secured  by  general  laws. 
It  would  be  very  imperfect  protection  to  the  helpless 
poor  if  it  was  permitted  to  charge  usury  to  the  covet- 
ous, greedy  fellow  who  having  much,  yet  desired  to 
gain  more  and  was  bidding  urgently  for  the  very 
loan  the  unfortunate  brother  needed.  Also  even 
equity  between  the  borrower  and  the  lender  would 
work  a  hardness  in  the  conditions  of  the  poor  man. 
Full  protection  requires  a  law  of  general  application. 

7.  Independence,   self-reliance,   self-support,   was 
the  condition  aimed  at  and  encouraged  in  the  Hebrew 
state.     Borrowing  was  only  in  time  of  sore  need. 
The  man  who  went  a-borrowing  was  second  only  to 
the  man  who  went  a-begging.       The  brother  who, 
through  misfortune  became  dependent,  was  able  the 
sooner  to  repay  his  loan  and  return  to  independence 
and  to  self  support. 

8.  In  the  repetition  of  the  law  in  Deut.  23 : 19,  20, 
there  is  no  reference  to  the  poverty  of  the  borrower 
and  it  cannot  by  fair  interpretation  be  limited  to  the 
poor.        "Thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury  to  thy 
brother ;  usury  of  money,  usury  of  victuals,  usury  of 
anything  that  is  lent  upon  usury.     Unto  a  stranger 
thou  mayest  lend  upon  usury;  but  unto  thy  brother 
thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury:  that  the  Lord  thy 
God  may  bless  thee  in  all  that  thou  settest  thine  hand 
to  do  in  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it." 


CHAPTER  III. 
USURY  AND  "THE  STRANGER." 

Deut.  23 : 19,  20 :  "Thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury 
to  thy  brother;  usury  of  money,  usury  of  victuals, 
usury  of  anything-  that  is  lent  upon  usury.  Unto  a 
stranger  thou  mayest  lend  upon  usury;  but  unto  thy 
brother  thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury :  that  the  Lord 
thy  God  may  bless  thee  in  all  that  thou  settest  thine 
hand  to  in  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it." 

While  there  is  no  reference  to  poverty  in  this  pass- 
age and  the  prohibition  cannot  fairly  be  limited  to 
loans  to  the  poor,  a  shadow  of  permission  to  exact 
usury  is  found  in  the  clause:  "unto  a  stranger  thou 
mayest  lend  upon  usury." 

Hebrews,  who  have  been  anxious  to  obey  the  letter 
of  the  Mosaic  law,  while  indifferent  to  its  true  spirit, 
have  construed  this  into  a  permission  to  exact  usury 
of  all  Gentiles.  Christian  apologists  for  usury,  who 
have  not  utterly  discarded  all  laws  given  by  Moses  as 
effete  and  no  longer  binding,  have  tried  hard  to  show 
that  this  clause  authorizes  the  general  taking  of 
interest.  To  do  this  it  is  wrested  from  its  natural 
connection,  and  the  true  historic  reference  is  ignored. 

Three  classes  of  persons,  that  were  called  strangers, 
may  be  noted  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the  true 
import  of  this  passage. 

(18) 


Usury  and  "The  Stranger."  10 

1.  Those  were  called  strangers  who  were  not  of 
Hebrew  blood,  but  were  proselytes  to  the  Hebrew 
faith  and  had  cast  their  lot  with  them.  They  were 
mostly  poor,  for  not  belonging  to  any  of  the  families 
of  Jacob,  they  had  no  landed  inheritance.  The  glean- 
ings of  the  field  and  the  stray  sheaf  were  left  for  the 
fatherless,  the  poor,  and  these  proselyted  strangers. 
But  they  were  to  be  received  in  love,  and  treated  in 
all  respects  as  those  born  of  their  own  blood.  Ex. 
12 :  48,  49 :  "And  when  a  stranger  shall  sojourn  with 
thee,  and  will  keep  the  passover  to  the  Lord,  let  all  his 
males  be  circumcized,  and  then  let  him  come  near  and 
keep  it ;  and  he  shall  be  as  one  that  is  born  in  the  land : 
for  no  uncircumcized  person  shall  eat  thereof.  One 
law  shall  be  to  him  that  is  home  born,  and  unto  the 
sti  anger  that  sojourneth  among  you." 

Lev.  24 :  22 :  "Ye  shall  have  one  manner  of  law,  as 
well  for  the  stranger,  as  for  one  of  your  own  country : 
for  I  am  the  Lord  your  God." 

Num.  9:  14:  "And  if  a  stranger  shall  sojourn 
among  you,  and  will  keep  the  passover  unto  the  Lord ; 
according  to  the  ordinance  of  the  passover,  and 
according  to  the  manner  thereof,  so  shall  he  do:  ye 
shall  have  one  ordinance  both  for  the  stranger,  and 
for  him  that  was  born  in  the  land." 

Num.  15  :  15,  16 :  "One  ordinance  shall  be  both 
for  you  of  the  congregation,  and  also  for  the  stranger 
that  sojourneth  with  you,  an  ordinance  forever  in  your 
congregations:  as  ye  are,  so  shall  the  stranger  be 


20         Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

before  the  Lord.  One  law  and  one  manner  shall  be 
for  you,  and  for  the  stranger  that  sojourneth  with 
you." 

Of  these  strangers  it  is  explicitly  said  they  are  to 
be  treated  precisely  as  brethren  of  their  own  blood. 

Lev.  25:  35,  36:  "And  if  thy  brother  be  waxen 
poor,  and  fallen  in  decay  with  thee,  then  thou  shalt 
relieve  him :  yea,  though  he  be  a  stranger,  or  a 
sojourner;  that  he  may  live  with  thee.  Take  thou  no 
usury  of  him,  or  increase :  but  fear  thy  God ;  that  thy 
brother  may  live  with  thee." 

2.  There  was  also  another '  class  of  strangers, 
including  all  the  nations  that  were  not  of  Hebrew 
blood,  by  which  they  were  surrounded.  These  traded 
with  them  and  often  sojourned  for  a  more  or  less 
extended  period  among  them  for  merely  secular  pur- 
poses, but  never  accepted  their  faith.  For  this  reason 
they  w(  t  often  called  sojourners.  With  us,  in  law, 
the  former  strangers  would  be  known  as  "naturalized 
citizens,"  these  as  "denizens,"  residents  in  a  foreign 
land  for  secular  purposes.  These  denizens  were  to 
be  dealt  with  justly,  to  be  treated  kindly  and  even  with 
affection,  remembering  their  long  sojourn  as  strang- 
ers in  Egypt.  Ex.  22 :  21 :  "Thou  shalt  neither  vex 
a  stranger,  nor  oppress  him :  for  ye  were  strangers  in 
the  land  of  Egypt." 

Ex.  23 :  9 :  "Also  thou  shalt  not  oppress  a  stranger : 
for  ye  know  the  heart  of  a  stranger,  seeing  ye  were 
strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt." 


Usury  and  "The  Stranger"  21 

They  were  "denizens,"  but  not  citizens  of  Egypt 
four  hundred  years. 

Lev.  19 :  33,  34 :  "And  if  a  stranger  sojourn  with 
thee  in  your  land,  ye  shall  not  vex  him.  But  the 
stranger  that  dwelleth  with  you  shall  be  unto  you  as 
one  born  among  you,  and  thou  shalt  love  him  as  thy- 
self ;  for  ye  were  strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt :  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God." 

This  class  of  denizens  or  sojourners  was  also  to  be 
treated  v  with  the  same  kindness  as  their  own  blood. 

Lev.  25 :  35,  36 :  "And  if  thy  brother  be  waxen 
poor,  and  fallen  in  decay  with  thee,  then  thou  shalt 
relieve  him :  yea,  though  he  be  a  stranger,  or  a 
sojourner;  that  he  may  live  with  thee.  Take  thou 
no  usury  of  him,  or  increase :  but  fear  thy  God :  that 
thy  brother  may  live  with  thee." 

The  sojourner  or  denizen  is  here  distinguished 
from  the  stranger  who  had  been  naturalized,  adopting 
their  faith. 

3.  There  was  another  class  called  strangers.  This 
class  was  limited  to  the  inhabitants  of  their  promised 
land. 

Robinson's  Bible  Encyclopedia  says,  on  this  clause : 
"  'Unto  a  stranger  thou  mayest  lend  upon  usury.'  In 
this  place  God  seems  to  tolerate  usury  toward 
strangers:  that  is  the  Canaanites  and  other  people 
devoted  to  subjection,  but  not  toward  such  strangers 
against  whom  the  Hebrews  had  xno  quarrel.  To  exact 
usury  is  here,  according  to  Ambrose,  an  act  of 


22          Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

hostility.  It  was  a  kind  of  waging  war  with  the 
Canaanites  and  ruining  them  by  means  of  usury." 

God  withheld  his  chosen  people  from  taking  pos- 
session of  the  promised  land  until  "their  iniquity  was 
full"  and  the  divine  sentence  of  condemnation  had 
been  pronounced  against  them.  They  were  to  be 
rooted  out  of  the  land  and  utterly  destroyed  for  their 
sins,  and  their  land  given  to  the  chosen  people.  God 
declared  that  he  would  execute  his  sentence,  driving 
them  out  before  them,  as  his  people  should  increase 
and  be  able  to  occupy  the  land.  Ex.  23 :  23,  28-32 : 
"For  mine  angel  shall  go  before  thee,  and  bring  thee 
in  unto  the  Amorites,  and  the  Jebusite,  and  I  will  cut 
them  off.  And  I  will  send  hornets  before  thee,  which 
shall  drive  out  the  Hivites,  the  Canaanite,  and  the 
Hittite,  from  before  thee.  I  will  not  drive  them  out 
from  before  thee  in  one  year;  lest  the  land  become 
desolate  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  multiply  against 
thee.  By  little  and  little  I  will  drive  them  out  from 
before  thee,  until  thou  be  increased,  and  inherit  the 
land.  And  I  will  set  my  bounds  from  the  Red  Sea 
even  unto  the  sea  of  the  Philistines,  and  from  the 
desert  unto  the  river :  for  I  will  deliver  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  into  your  hand;  and  thou  shalt  drive  them 
out  before  thee.  Thou  shalt  make  no  covenant  with 
them,  nor  with  their  gods." 

Ex.  34:  10-12:  "And  he  said,  Behold,  I  make  a 
covenant:  before  all  thy  people  I  will  do  marvels, 
such  as  have  not  been  done  in  all  the  earth,  nor  in  any 


Usury  and  "The  Stranger."  23 

nation :  and  all  the  people  among  which  thou  art  shall 
see  the  work  of  the  Lord :  for  it  is  a  terrible  thing  that 
I  will  do  with  thee.  Observe  thou  that  which  I 
command  thee  this  day:  behold,  I  drive  out  before 
thee  the  Amorite,  and  the  Canaanite,  and  the  Hittite, 
and  the  Perizzite,  and  the  Hivite,  and  the  Jebusite. 
Take  heed  to  thyself,  lest  thou  make  a  covenant  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land  whither  thou  goest,  lest  it 
be  for  a  snare  in  the  midst  of  thee." 

They  were  in  no  way  to  covenant  with  this  people 
and  interfere  with  the  execution  of  divine  judgment. 
They  were  commanded,  willing  or  unwilling,  to  be  in 
a  measure  the  executioners  of  those  under  sentence. 
These  people  of  Canaan  were  deprived  of  all  rights 
by  the  divine  sentence  and  the  Israelites  were  not  to 
grant  any.  To  do  so  was  direct  disobedience,  and  yet 
most  of  the  tribes  failed  to  obey  the  command,  permit- 
ting many  of  the  inhabitants  to  remain. 

When  the  Gibeonites  deceived  Joshua  and  secured 
a  pledge,  the  pledge  of  their  lives  was  kept,  but  they 
were  made  slaves,  doomed  to  drudgery  forever,  "hew- 
ers of  wood  and  drawers  of  water."  Josh.  9 :  23. 

This  compromise  was  contrary  to  the  divine 
command  for  their  utter  destruction.  To  condone 
the  guilt  of  these  people,,  or  to  interfere  with  their 
execution,  was  as  flagrant  a  violation  of  law  as  that 
of  a  modern  community  that  seeks  to  protect  crimi- 
nals, or  that  interferes  with  the  execution  of  those 
convicted  of  capital  crimes. 


24        Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

This  class  of  strangers  had  no  rights  that  Hebrews 
were  permitted  to  respect.  They  were  not  to  be 
given  any  privileges.  They  were  to  be  treated  as 
Hindoo  widows  are  treated,  "accursed  of  the  gods 
and  hated  of  men."  Debts  were  not  to  be  forgiven 
them.  The  year  of  Jubilee  did  not  affect  them.  They 
remained  enslaved  forever.  The  Sabbath's  rest  was 
only  incidental,  that  there  might  be  a  complete  cessa- 
tion of  all  activities. 

In  the  fourth  commandment  "Deut.  5:  14,  "thy 
stranger"  is  mentioned  after  the  ox,  ass,  and  cattle, 
and  was  given  rest  for  the  same  reason  the  beasts  are 
permitted  to  rest :  "That  thy  man-servant  and  maid- 
servant may  rest  as  well  as  thou."  They  had  not  the 
rights  of  a  common  servant  or  slave.  The  carcass  of 
the  animal  that  died  of  itself  could  be  given  them  to 
eat,  and  they  could  be  charged  usury. 

Yet  this  clause  has  been  seized  upon  by  avari- 
cious Jews  as  permission  to  exact  usury  of  all  the 
nations  not  of  Hebrew  blood,  ignoring  the  fact  that 
when  given  it  was  limited  to  those  peoples  under  the 
curse  of  God  for  their  iniquities.  It  can  not  justly  be 
made  to  mean  that  the  Hebrews  have  a  right  to  treat 
other  nations  with  less  righteousness  than  they  treat 
their  own  people. 

It  is  an  unwarranted  broadening  to  make  it  a  per- 
mission to  exact  usury  from  all  the  human  race  except 
Irom  Hebrews. 

It  was  chiefly  the  acting  upon  this  false  interpreta- 


Usury  and  "The  Stranger."  25 

tion,  classing  all  Gentiles  with  these  strangers, 
accursed  of  God,  that  had  no  rights  they  were  permit- 
ted to  respect,  that  set  every  Gentile  Christian's  hand 
against  the  Jews  for  fifteen  hundred  years. 

Nothing  more  clearly  marked  the  line  between 
Christian  and  Hebrew  during  fifteen  centuries  than 
this  one  thing,  that  the  Hebrews  exacted  usury  or 
interest  of  the  Gentiles  while  the  Christians  were 
unanimous  in  its  denunciation,  and  forbade  its 
practice. 

Gentile  Christian  apologists  for  the  taking  of  usury 
or  interest,  to  overcome  the  force  of  this  prohibition, 
are  compelled  to  grant  that  Christians  may  be  less 
brotherly  than  Hebrews :  that  the  borrowers  whether 
Christian  or  not  are  "strangers"  to  those  who  make 
them  loans  upon  increase. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
DAVID   AND    SOLOMON. 

Devout  Hebrews  during  the  period  of  the  Judges 
obeyed  the  Mosaic  prohibition  of  usury  or  interest. 
It  was  also  recognized  as  binding  and  obeyed  during 
the  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon.  This  was  a  greatly 
prosperous  period  when  commerce  flourished  and 
trade  was  extended  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

David  was  weak  before  certain  temptations  and  his 
falls  were  grievous,  but  his  repentance  was  deep  and 
his  returns  to  God  were  sincere.  He  never  failed  to 
regard  God  as  supreme  over  him  and  the  bestower  of 
all  his  blessings.  He  is  called  the  man  after  God's 
own  heart,  and  it  is  also  said  that  his  heart  was  perfect 
before  God.  His  spirit  of  devout  worship  has  never 
been  surpassed.  His  Psalms,  in  all  the  ages,  have 
been  accepted  as  expressing  the  true  yearning  after 
righteousness  and  a  longing  for  closer  communion 
with  God. 

David,  in  the  fifteenth  Psalm,  expresses  the  thought 
of  the  earnest  and  reverent  worshippers  of  his  time. 
This  Psalm  declares  the  necessity  of  moral  purity  in 
those  who  would  be  citizens  of  Zion  and  v  dwellers  in 
the  holy  hill. 

"Lord,     who     shall    abide     in     thy     tabernacle? 
(26) 


David  and  Solomon.  27 

Who  shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill?  He  that  walketh 
uprightly,  and  worketh  righteousness,  and  speaketh 
the  truth  in  his  heart.  He  that  backbiteth  not  with 
his  tongue,  nor  doeth  evil  to  his  neighbor,  nor  taketh 
up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbor.  In  whose  eyes  a 
vile  person  is  condemned ;  but  he  honoreth  them  that 
fear  the  Lord.  He  that  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt  and 
changeth  not.  He  that  putteth  not  out  his  money 
to  usury,  nor  taketh  reward  against  the  innocent.  He 
that  doeth  these  things  shall  never  be  moved." 

The  description,  "He  that  putteth  not  out  his 
money  to  usury,"  is  direct  and  unqualified.  There 
could  be  no  mistaking  its  meaning. .  Those  who  were 
guilty  could  not  claim  to  be  citizens  of  Zion.  There 
is  no  qualifying  clause  behind  which  the  usurer  could 
take  refuge  and  escape  condemnation. 

This  Psalm,  prepared  by  the  king,  was  chanted  in 
the  great  congregation,  and  was  a  prick  to  the  con- 
sciences of  the  sinners  and  a  public  reproof  of  all  the 
sins  mentioned.  He  that  putteth  out  his  money  to 
increase  received  thus  a  public  reproof  in  the  great 
worshipping  assembly. 

Solomon,  endowed  with  unequaled  wisdom  and 
able  so  clearly  to  discern  the  right,  places  among  his 
proverbs  a  direct  denunciation  of  this  sin. 

Prov.  28 :  8 :  "He  that  by  usury  and  unjust  gain 
increaseth  his  substance,  he  shall  gather  it  for  him 
that  will  pity  the  poor." 


28    Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

In  this  proverb  the  gain  of  usury  is  classed  with 
unjust  gain  that  shall  not  bless  the  gatherer.  This  is 
in  entire  harmony  with  other  proverbs  in  which  those 
who  practice  injustice  and  oppression  are  declared  to 
be  wanting  in  true  wisdom  and  receive  no  benefit 
themselves. 

"The  righteousness  of  the  upright  shall  deliver 
them:  but  transgressors  shall  be  taken  in  their  own 
naughtiness." 

"As  righteousness  tendeth  to  life;  so  he  that  pur- 
sueth  evil  pursueth  it  to  his  own  death." 

"Whoso  causeth  the  righteous  to  go  astray  in  an 
evil  way,  he  shall  fall  himself  into  his  own  pit ;  but  the 
upright  shall  have  good  things  in  possession." 

"Rob  not  the  poor,  because  he  is  poor:  neither 
oppress  the  afflicted  in  the  gate:  for  the  Lord  will 
plead  their  cause,  and  spoil  the  soul  of  those  that 
spoiled  them." 

Usury  and  unjust  gain  are  joined  by  Solomon  as 
sins  of  the  same  nature.  It  is  also  implied  that  they 
are  necessarily  connected  with  want  of  sympathy  and 
helpfulness  toward  the  poor.  They  are  presented  as 
an  oppression  that  shall  not  bless  the  oppressor. 

This  proverb  does  not  confine  the  evil  to  the  bor- 
rower like  the  proverb,  "The  borrower  is  servant  to 
the  lender."  The  wrong  is  not  confined  to  those  of 
the  poor  to  whom  loans  may  be  made.  The  oppres- 
sion of  usury  is  upon  all  the  poor  though  they  are  not 
borrowers.  They  are  the  ultimate  sufferers  though 


David  and  Solomon.  29 

the  loan  may  be  made  by  one  rich  man  to  another  to 
enable  him  to  engage  in  some  business  for  profit. 
Usury  is  so  bound  up  with  injustice  that  its  practice 
cannot  fail  to  result  in  increasing  the  hard  conditions 
of  all  the  poor. 

Solomon's  reign  was  brilliant,  and  the  ships  of  his 
commerce  entered  every  port  in  the  known  world, 
yet  usury  was  not  necessary  and  was  not  practiced  in 
that  prosperous  age. 


CHAPTER  V. 
DENUNCIATION  OF  JEREMIAH  AND  EZEKIEL. 

The  Hebrew  nation  reached  its  summit  of  power 
and  glory  during  the  reign  of  King  Solomon,  but 
corruption  crept  in  and  disintegration  followed,  and  a 
series  of  conflicts  between  portions  of  the  kingdom. 
The  laws  given  by  Moses  were  neglected,  and  a  long 
period  of  gross  sinning  followed.  They  were  warned 
by  the  faithful  yet  hopeful  prophet  Isaiah  that  the 
overthrow  of  their  nation  was  certain,  and  that  their 
people  would  be  carried  captive  to  a-  strange  land 
unless  they  forsook  utterly  their  sins  and  turned  to 
righteousness.  They  did  not  heed  and  the  predicted 
calamities  came  upon  them. 

In  the  midst  of  these  calamities  the  contemporary 
prophets  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  ministered.  They 
differed  greatly  in  their  dispositions. 

Jeremiah  was  a  complainer.  Always  bemoaning 
his  own  and  his  people's  hard  lot.  The  Lamentations 
are  recognized  as  the  best  extant  expression  of  unmi- 
tigated grief.  He  lamented  his  birth  because  he  was 
treated  as  a  usurer  and  oppressor,  when  he  had  never 
exacted  usury,  nor  had  business  with  usurers.  Jer. 
15 :  10 :  "Woe,  is  me,  my  brother,  that  thou  hast 
borne  me  a  man  of  strife  and  a  man  of  contention  to 
the  whole  earth.  I  have  neither  lent  on  usury,  nor 
(30) 


Denunciation  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  31 

have  men  lent  to  me  on  usury ;  yet  every  one  of  them 
doth  curse  me." 

Ezekiel  was  always  patient,  faithfully  proclaiming 
his  messages,  and  suffering  in  silence.  The  com- 
pleteness of  his  self-control  and  patient  suffering  is 
shown  in  the  short  but  pathetic  description  of  the 
death  of  his  beloved  wife,  yet  at  the  divine  command 
he  repressed  his  grief  and  delivered  his  message  the 
following  morning.  Ezekiel  24 : 15-18 :  "Also  the 
word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  Son  of  man, 
behold,  I  take  away  from  thee  the  desire  of  thine  eyes 
with  a  stroke;  yet  neither  shalt  thou  mourn  nor  weep, 
neither  shall  thy  tears  run  down.  Forbear  to  cry, 
make  no  mourning  for  the  dead,  bind  the  tire  of  thy 
head  upon  thee,  and  put  on  thy  shoes  upon  thy  feet, 
and  cover  up  thy  lips,  and  eat  not  the  bread  of  men. 
So  I  spake  of  people  in  the  morning;  and  at  even  my 
wife  died;  and  I  did  in  the  morning  as  I  was  com- 
manded." 

These  prophets  were  familiar  with  the  same  scenes. 
They  met  the  same  sins.  Some  have  thought  they 
exchanged  messages,  sending  them  respectively  to 
Jerusalem  and  Chaldea  for  encouragement  and  con- 
firmation. This  was  the  opinion  of  Jerome. 

In  a  catalogue  of  the  sins  prevailing  in  Jerusalem, 
for  which  the  judgment  of  God  came  upon  them,  this 
prophet  places  "Usury  and  increase."  Ezekiel  22 : 
7-12:  "In  thee  have  they  set  light  by  father  and 
mother:  in  the  midst  of  thee  have  they  dealt  by 
oppression  with  the  stranger :  in  thee  have  they  vexed 


32    Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

the  fatherless  and  the  widow.  Thou  hast  despised 
mine  holy  things,  and  hast  profaned  my  Sabbaths. 
In  thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood:  and 
in  thee  they  eat  upon  the  mountains :  in  the  midst  of 
thee  they  commit  lewdness.  In  thee  have  they  dis- 
covered their  father's  nakedness:  in  thee  have  they 
humbled  her  that  was  set  apart  for  pollution.  And 
one  hath  committed  abomination  with  his  neighbor's 
wife ;  and  another  hath  lewdly  defiled  his  daughter-in- 
law;  and  another  in  thee  hath  humbled  his  sister,  his 
father's  daughter.  In  thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to 
shed  blood;  thou  hast  taken  usury  and  increase,  and 
thou  hast  greedily  gained  of  thy  neighbors  by  extor- 
tion, and  hast  forgotten  me,  saith  the  Lord  God." 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  give  a  list  of  more  gross  and 
flagrant  sins  than  those  associated  with  usury  in  this 
passage.  They  are  all,  always  and  everywhere,  sinful. 
In  no  condition  can  they  be  lawful  and  right. 

One  of  the  answers  familiar  to  both  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel  when  the  people  were  reproved  for  their  sins 
and  exhorted  to  forsake  them,  that  the  divine  judg- 
ments might  be  removed,  was  this,  that  their  suffer- 
ings were  not  on  their  own  account,  but  for  the  sins 
of  their  fathers.  They  thus  met  the  charge  of  per- 
sonal sins  and  claimed  their  sufferings  were  inherited 
and  unavoidable.  Their  fathers  had  indulged  in  sin 
and  they  must  reap  the  consequences.  They  com- 
plained that  this  was  hardness  in  God.  They  ex- 
pressed this  murmur  by  a  proverb.  Jer.  31:29:  'The 


Denunciation  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  33 

fathers  have  eaten  a  sour  grape,  and  the  children's 
teeth  are  set  on  edge." 

The  answer  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  briefly  is,  that 
every  one  shall  answer  for  his  own  sin.  Jer.  31 :  30 : 
"But  every  one  shall  die  for  his  own  iniquity:  every 
man  that  eateth  the  sour  grape,  his  teeth  shall  be  set 
on  edge." 

This  same  proverb  was  repeatedly  given  to  Ezekiel, 
as  an  excuse  for  continuing  in  sins,  even  when  the 
judgments  of  God  were  upon  them.  The  word  of 
the  Lord  came  more  fully  and  explicitly  to  him. 

Ezekiel  declares  that  the  sins  of  the  fathers  were 
visited  on  the  children  only  when  they  continued  in 
their  father's  iniquity.  That  those  who  forsook  the 
sins  of  their  fathers  and  were  righteous,  were  free 
from  the  punishment  of  the  unrighteous  parents. 

Ezekiel  18 : 1-17 :  "The  word  of  God  came  unto 
me  again,  saying,  What  mean  ye,  that  ye  use  this 
proverb  concerning  the  land  of  Israel,  saying,  The 
fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the  children's 
teeth  are  set  on  edge. 

As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  }'e  shall  not  have 
occasion  to  use  this  proverb  in  Israel.  Behold,  all 
souls  are  mine;  as  the  soul  of  the  father,  so  also  the 
soul  of  the  son  is  mine :  the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall 
die.  But  if  a  man  be  just,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful 
and  right,  and  hath  not  eaten  upon  the  mountains, 
neither  hath  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  idols  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  neither  hath  defiled  his  neighbor's  wife. 


34       Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

neither  hath  come  near  to  a  menstruous  woman,  (i.  e. 
neither  hath  committed  a  rape,)  and  hath  not 
oppressed  any,  but  hath  restored  to  the  debtor  his 
pledge,  hath  spoiled  none  by  violence,  hath  given  his 
bread  to  the  hungry,  and  hath  covered  the  naked  with 
a  garment.  He  that  hath  not  given  forth  upon  usury, 
neither  hath  taken  any  increase,  that  hath  withdrawn 
his  hand  from  iniquity,  hath  executed  true  judgment 
between  man  and  man.  Hath  walked  in  my  statutes, 
and  hath  kept  my  judgments,  to  deal  truly;  he  is  just, 
he  shall  surely  live,  saith  the  Lord  God." 

"If  he  beget  a  son  that  is  a  robber,  a  shedder  of 
blood,  and  that  doeth  the  like  to  any  one  of  these 
things;  and  that  doeth  not  any  of  those  duties  but 
even  hath  eaten  upon  the  mountains,  and  defiled  his 
neighbor's  wife,  hath  oppressed  the  poor  and  needy, 
hath  spoiled  by  violence,  hath  not  restored  the  pledge, 
and  hath  lifted  his  eyes  to  the  idols,  hath  committed 
abomination,  hath  given  forth  upon  usury,  and  hath 
taken  increase:  Shall  he  then  live?  He  shall  not 
live:  he  hath  done  all  these  abominations;  he  shall 
surely  die;  his  blood  shall  be  upon  him.  Now,  lo, 
if  he  beget  a  son,  that  seeth  all  his  father's  sins  which 
he  hath  done,  and  considereth,  and  doeth  not  such 
like :  that  hath  not  eaten  upon  the  mountains,  neither 
hath  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  idols  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  hath  not  defiled  his  neighbor's  wife,  neither 
hath  oppressed  any,  hath  not  withholden  the  pledge, 
neither  hath  spoiled  by  violence,  but  hath  given  his 


Denunciation  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  35 

bread  to  the  hungry,  and  hath  covered  the  naked  with 
a  garment,  that  hath  taken  off  his  hand  from  the  poor, 
that  hath  not  received  usury  or  increase,  hath  execu- 
ted my  judgments,  hath  walked  in  my  statutes;  he 
shall  not  die  for  the  iniquity  of  his  father,  he  shall 
surely  live." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  usury  or  increase  is  here  men- 
tioned among  the  grossest  and  foulest  sins  of  which 
that  people  were  guilty.  They  are  placed  by  the 
prophet  in  the  worst  possible  company.  He  classifies 
them  among  those  things  that  can  never  be  right. 
There  is  no  qualification  of  "increase"  great  or  small, 
nor  of  "usury"  whether  the  loan  be  domestic  or 
commercial,  whether  for  personal  need,  or  to  go  into 
business,  whether  the  borrower  be  poor  or  rich. 

Usury  is  mentioned  as  "malum  per  se."  "Usury  and 
increase"  are  treated  as  sinful  in  themselves,  just  as 
fraud,  violence,  impurity,  and  idolatry  are  sinful,  and 
can  never  be  innocent  unless  their  very  natures  are 
reversed.  When  there  is  fraud  without  dishonesty, 
and  violence  without  injury,  and  adultery  without 
impurity,  and  idolatry  without  false  worship,  then  may 
there  be  "usury  and  increase"  without  injustice  and 
oppression.  "Some  sins  in  themselves  and  by  reason 
of  several  aggravations  are  more  heinous  in  the  sight 
of  God  than  others,"  the  prophet  Ezekiel  places 
"usury  or  increase"  in  the  list  of  "abominations," 


CHAPTER  VI. 
FINANCIAL  REFORM  BY  NEHEMIAH. 

After  seventy  years  of  captivity  of  the  Hebrews  in 
Chaldea  an  edict  was  issued  by  Cyrus  the  king  per- 
mitting their  return  to  Judea.  The  most  earnest  and 
devout  had  been  restless  and  homesick  in  the  strange 
land.  The  restoration  was  led  by  Zerubbabel  who 
accompanied  by  about  five  thousand  of  the  most 
devout  men  from  the  various  families,  made  their  way 
over  the  long  return  to  their  former  home.  This  was 
only  about  one-sixth  of  the  captive  population. 
Many  preferred  to  remain  in  the  land  they  had  now 
adopted,  and  where  some  had  been  prospered,  and 
some  were  perhaps  less  fervent  in  their  religious  zeal. 
This  fraction  of  the  people,  however,  determined  to 
re-erect  their  temple  and  to  cultivate  the  fields  again 
that  were  given  to  their  fathers  and  to  rebuild  the 
nation,  the  tradition  of  whose  glory  never  failed  to 
stir  their  hearts. 

Eighty  years  later  another  company  under  the 
priest  and  scholar,  Ezra,,  authorized  by  Artaxerxes, 
joined  the  first  colony  that  had  returned  to  re-occupy 
their  own  land. 

A  few  years  later  another  company  was  led  by  the 
patriot,  Nehemiah.  Nehemiah  was  in  an  honorable 
and  lucrative  position  in  the  first  court  upon  earth, 
(36) 


Financial  Reform  by  Nehemiah.  37 

yet  he  grieved  over  the  misfortunes  of  his  own  people, 
and  especially  over  the  reported  distress  of  the  re- 
turned exiles.  He  sought  leave  of  absence  and  a 
commission  to  return  and  co-work  with  his  brethren 
for  their  complete  re-establishment  at  Jerusalem. 

The  leave  of  absence  was  cheerfully  granted  and  a 
broad  commission  given  to  take  with  him  any  who 
wished  to  return.  The  revenues  of  the  king  were 
placed  at  his  disposal  and  the  governors  of  the  prov- 
inces were  ordered  to  assist  and  further  his  work.  A 
large  company  of  the  earnest  and  devout  returned 
with  him,  confident  of  his  protection  and  in  sympathy 
with  his  mission.  He  deliberately  reviewed  the  work 
to  be  done,  made  careful  plans  and  was  greatly  suc- 
cessful. 

The  people  were  obedient.  They  cheerfully 
endured  the  privations  and  dangers  in  their  devotion 
to  their  country,  and  in  the  hope  of  retrieving  the 
fortunes  of  their  depressed  people. 

Enemies  appeared,  who  threatened  to  estop  their 
work,  but  some  worked  while  others  watched,  with 
arms  in  hand,  ready  to  defend.  Some  wrought  with 
one  hand  and  held  a  weapon  for  ready  defence  in  the 
other.  Nehemiah  and  his  aides,  and  many  of  the 
people,  did  not  take  off  their  clothes,  but  were  on 
duty  constantly — so  devoted  were  they  to  the  cause 
in  which  they  were  engaged,  regaining  their  homes 
and  re-establishing  the  worship  of  their  fathers  and 
rebuilding  the  nation. 


38      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

But  there  was  a  strange  interruption  in  this  patriotic 
work.  A  sordid  covetousness  possessed  their  nobles 
and  rulers.  While  the  people  were  absorbed  in  their 
patriotic  service,  these  persons  were  planning  suc- 
cessfully to  despoil  them. 

A  cry  of  distress  came  to  the  ears  of  Nehemiah. 
The  people  found,  now  that  they  had  made  the  sacri- 
fice and  suffered  deprivations  and  cheerfully  given 
their  labors  for  the  common  good,  they  were  deprived 
of  their  blessings  and  enslaved. 

This  enslavement  was  not  to  foreign  rulers,  but  to 
those  of  their  own  blood.  A  division  had  grown  up 
among  their  own  kindred.  Some  had  grown  rich 
and  become  their  masters.  Others  were  in  hopeless 
poverty.  The  distinctions  came  gradually  or  grew  up 
among  them,  possibly  unobserved :  the  rich  becoming 
richer  and  the  poor  poorer,  until  the  nobles  held  their 
lands  and  were  selling  their  sons  and  daughters  as 
chattels. 

This  condition  was  hopeless,  after  all  their  struggles 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years  to  re-establish  their  institu- 
tions. Neither  they  nor  their  children  could,  under 
those  conditions,  enjoy  the  fruit  of  all  their  efforts. 
This  was  no  fault  of  theirs.  There  had  been  times  of 
dearth  and  harvest  failure,  when  some  with  large 
families  were  in  need.  The  king's  tribute,  too,  was 
heavy  upon  them  and  some  were  not  able  to  pay  and 
they  were  compelled  to  borrow,  but  had  to  give  mort- 
gages upon  their  land  as  security.  Now  lands,  homes 


Financial  Reform  by  Nehemiah.  39 

and  all,  had  passed  to  the  creditors  and  they  were 
despondent  and  helpless. 

This  cry  caused  Nehemiah  great  distress,  but 
Nehemiah  was  not  like  Ezra,  a  devout  and  learned 
priest,  but  without  executive  power,  who  in  a  like 
position  gave  way  to  unmitigated  grief.  Nehemiah 
was  equally  patriotic  and  conscientious,  but  he 
was  also  a  strong  leader  and  an  independent  com- 
mander. He  did  not  call  together  the  nobles  and 
rulers  charged  with  oppression  and  ask  them  what  he 
should  do.  He  had  none  of  their  counsel.  He  took 
counsel  with  himself,  his  own  conscience,  his  own 
judgment,  and  worked  out  an  independent,  indi- 
vidual policy  which  he  should  pursue. 

His  sympathy  was  with  the  suffering  people,  and 
he  determined  to  espouse  their  cause  and  to  correct 
their  wrongs.  He  then  called  the  nobles  and  rulers 
and  charged  th^m  to  their  face  with  oppression.  He 
laid  "the  ax  at  the  root  of  the  tree"  and  charged  the 
fault  to  their  coveteousness,  to  the  exacting  of  usury 
or  interest.  It  was  this,  he  declared,  that  had  brought 
them  to  wealth,  but  driven  others  to  poverty.  He 
demanded  reparation.  When  they  were  slow  to 
yield,  he  called  a  convocation  of  the  people  and 
aroused  them  to  a  due  sense  of  the  wrong^they  had 
been  enduring,  and  laid  bare  the  sins  of  the  rulers  and 
nobles.  He  showed  the  oppression  by  comparing 
their  sordid  and  greedy  conduct  with  the  unselfish, 
self-sacrifice  of  himself  and  others  for  the  common 


40        Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

good.  While  he  and  the  patriotic  people  were  busy 
with  hand  and  brain  in  rebuilding  the  nation  and 
fighting  the  enemies,  these  usurers  were  busy  getting 
in  their  work  of  ruin,  gathering  the  property  into 
their  own  hands  and  enslaving  the  patriots. 

The  usurers  were  not  able  to  withstand  this  on- 
slaught of  the  chief  commander  and  the  aroused 
people,  and  they  made  no  reply.  Their  conduct  had 
so  evidently  been  contrary  both  to  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  their  own  law,  they  were  compelled  to  yield  and  to 
say  meekly,  "We  will  do  as  you  have  said." 

Then  he  stated  the  terms  and  conditions  of  the 
reform  he  would  institute. 

1.  They  must  return  the  pledges  they  had  taken 
for  debts,  without  reserve.     The  people  must  not  be 
deprived  of  their  land,  tools,  or  instruments  of  produc- 
tion.   The  foreclosure  of  mortgages  must  be  set  aside 
and  the  people  again  given  possession  of  their  lands. 

2.  Interest  must  be  returned  or  credited  upon  the 
debts.     If  the  interest  equaled  the  debt,  then  the  debt 
was  fully  discharged.     If  more  than  the  principal  had 
been  paid,  then  it  must  be  returned  in  money  or  in 
the  product  of  lands  taken  in  foreclosure,  the  wine  or 
oil  or  fruits  and  grains  must  be  returned.    Thus  only 
could  the  wrongs  be  corrected  and  righteous  adjust- 
ment be  made. 

There    then    followed    a    general    restoration    of 


Financial  Reform  by  Nehemiah.  41 

pledges  and  a  cancelling-  of  debts  that  had  been  paid 
once  in  interest,  and  a  repaying  of  any  surplus. 

3.  They  must  take  a  solemn  vow  that  this  sin  shall 
henceforth  be  unknown  among  them.  The  law 
against  usury  or  interest  must  henceforth  be  carefully 
obeyed.  These  distinctions  that  had  grown  up  among 
them  must  disappear  forever,  and  the  cause  of  the 
poverty  of  the  many  and  the  wealth  of  the  few  must 
be  shunned. 

To  these  conditions  the  usurers  assented,  made 
ashamed  by  the  conduct  of  the  noble  patriot  in  con- 
trast with  their  own  selfishness,  though  they  had  not 
yielded  until  awed  and  compelled  by  the  indignation 
of  the  people,  which  Nehemiah  had  enkindled  against 
them. 

This  positive  enforcement  of  the  law  against  the 
taking  of  increase  on  any  loan,  makes  unmistakably 
clear  the  interpretation  of  the  law  by  the  devout, 
earnest,  sincere,  God-fearing  Hebrews,  down  to  the 
close  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon. 

References:  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Bible  Dictionaries- 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TEACHINGS  OF  THE  MASTER. 

Psalmist  and  prophets  had  sung  of  the  exalted 
character  of  the  coming  Messiah.  "Thou  art  fairer 
than  the  children  of  men:  grace  is  poured  into  thy 
lips."  "And  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counselor,  The  Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting  Father, 
The  Prince  of  Peace." 

At  his  coming  he  lifted  to  a  higher  plane,  by  his 
precepts  and  example,  the  ideal  of  a  true,  noble  and 
worthy  human  life.  By  his  teachings  and  by  his  life 
of  utter  unselfishness  he  revealed  clearly  the  exalted 
character  and  conduct  that  conformed  to  the  Divine 
will. 

1.  Our  Lord's  character  forbids  that  we  should 
think  of  him  for  a  moment  as  devoted  to  the  gather- 
ing of  worldly  wealth.  He  came  to  minister  unto, 
not  to  serve  himself.  Self-seeking  was  foreign  to  his 
nature.  A  great  truth  was  spoken  by  the  scoffers. 
"He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot  save." 

He  who  strives  to  follow  in  his  footsteps  cannot 
serve  himself. 

The  whole  drift  of  a  great  unselfish  Christ-like  soul 
must  be  for  others.  The  whole  current  of  his  thought 
and  effort  during  his  life  must  be,  to  be  helpful  to 
others.  Studying  and  striving  to  help  others,  he  can- 

(42) 


Teachings  of  the  Master.  43 

not  seek  wealth.  "Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon." 

It  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  whole  life  and  all  the 
teachings  of  the  Master  that  he  should  encourage  or 
permit  a  means  of  increasing  wealth  forbidden  by  the 
laws  given  by  Moses  and  classed  among  the  vilest  of 
sins  by  the  prophets. 

2.  Again :  He  did  not  undo  the  teachings  of  the 
prophets,  but  enlarged  their  scope.  He  showed  by 
word  and  example  how  the  true  spirit  of  the  teachings 
of  the  old  dispensation  led  to  self-sacrifice  for  the 
welfare  of  others.  Matt.  5 :  17 :  "Think  not  that  I 
am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the  prophets :  I  am 
not  come  to  destroy  but  to  fulfill." 

Fulfill,  here,  is  more  than  to  obey.  It  is  in  antithe- 
sis with  destroy,  and  means  to  perfect  and  complete. 

The  old  ceremonial  forms  of  religious  worship, 
pointed  to  the  advent  of  one  who  should  be  a  perfect 
sacrifice  for  sin,  typified  by  the  daily  sacrifice  of  bulls 
and  rams.  The  sacrifice  typified,  was  completed  in 
Him. 

The  moral  enactments  were  not  set  aside,  but  they 
were  given  a  completed  meaning;  that  is  they  were 
made  to  reach  beyond  the  external  to  the  hidden 
desires  and  affections  of  the  heart.  He  taught  that 
mere  external  compliance  was  not  sufficient  in  the 
All  Seeing  Eye.  The  affections  and  desires  of  the 
soul  must  be  in  agreement. 

Thus  we  have  the  explanation  of  the  law  of  chastity, 


44        Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

completed,  requiring  purity  of  the  soul.  So  murder 
is  not  merely  the  external  act,  but  the  law  for  murder, 
completed,  forbids  enmity  or  hatred  hidden  in  the 
heart. 

The  requirements  for  mutual  helpfulness  were  also 
perfected  or  completed. 

The  old  law  required  the  helping  of  a  brother  in 
need. 

Deut.  15 :  7,  8 :  "If  there  be  among  you  a  poor  man 
of  one  of  thy  brethren  within  any  of  thy  gates  in  the 
land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,  thou  shalt 
not  harden  thy  heart,  nor  shut  thine  hand  from  thy 
poor  brother.  But  thou  shalt  open  thine  hand  wide 
unto  him,  and  shalt  surely  lend  him  sufficient  for  his 
need,  in  that  which  he  wanteth." 

This  was  completed  so  as  to  extend  the  help  to  all 
sufferers,  though  not  kindred  nor  friendly,  and  though 
they  may  not  be  able  nor  willing  to  repay.  Luke 
6 :  35 :  "But  love  ye  your  enemies,  and  do  good,  and 
lend,  hoping  for  nothing  again;  and  your  reward  shall 
be  great,  and  ye  shall  be  the  children  of  the  Highest : 
for  he  is  kind  unto  the  unthankful,  and  to  the  evil." 

The  old  law  permitted  the  lender  to  take  a  pledge 
to  secure  the  return  of  "as  much  again,"  that  is,  the 
loan  without  interest.  The  Master  enjoins  being 
helpful  though  the  principal  should  never  be  repaid. 
To  take  a  pledge  or  mortgage  and  add  the  interest 
would  greatly  harden  the  conditions  for  the  borrower. 


Teachings  of  the  Master.  45 

It  would  be  a  step  backward  and  not  forward  in  the 
way  of  helpfulness  to  others. 

Again,  the  year  of  Jubilee  was  a  kind  of  legal  time 
limit  to  debts.  All  obligations  were  then  cancelled. 
No  debt  could  be  collected.  The  selfish  Hebrew 
feared  to  make  a  loan  shortly  before  Jubilee  lest  it 
should  not  be  repaid  promptly  and  his  claim  would 
become  worthless.  Deut.  15 :  9  :  "Beware  that  there 
be  no  thought  in  thy  wicked  heart,  saying,  The 
seventh  year,  the  year  of  release  is  at  hand ;  and  thine 
eye  be  evil  toward  thy  poor  brother,,  and  thou  givest 
him  naught;  and  he  cry  unto  the  Lord  against  thee 
and  it  be  sin  unto  thee."  In  his  heart  the  old  Hebrew 
might  have  a  desire  to  press  his  claim  but  the  law  pro- 
tected the  debtor.  This  law  for  the  release  of  the 
debtor  from  the  payment  of  principal  without  interest 
is  completed  so  as  to  require  sincere  and  hearty  for- 
giveness. 

Our  Lord  taught  his  disciples  to  ask  for  forgive- 
ness of  God  only  as  they  forgave  their  debtors,  Matt. 
6 : 12 :  "And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors."  The  commercial  terms  here  used  show 
this  to  be  the  completion  of  the  law  as  touching  the 
creditor  and  his  released  debtor. 

3.  Again,  he  broke  down  the  artificial  barriers,  the 
distinction  of  Hebrew  and  Gentile,  Greek  and  Bar- 
barian, bond  and  free. 

The  love  and  sympathy  and  helpfulness  among  men 
was  no  longer  to  be  limited  to  such  narrow  bounds, 


46      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

but  must  be  wide  as  the  race.  "Who  is  my  neighbor?" 
is  so  answered  that  every  man  must  be  neighbor  to 
every  other  man,  and  the  object  of  his  care  and  help. 
All  are  of  one  blood,  and  all  God's  children.  He  gave 
one  law  for  all  classes  and  conditions  in  all  times.  He 
so  expounded  the  old  commandments  and  so  con- 
densed them,  that  they  became  the  one  law  of  love. 
Whosoever  is  governed  by  supreme  love  to  God,  and 
loves  his  neighbor  as  himself,  has  fulfilled  the  law.  He 
would  thus  bind  all  men  together,  and  all  to  the 
throne  of  God,  by  the  one  bond  of  love. 

But  he  further  intensified  the  obligations  of  love, 
by  his  own  special  command.  John  15 :  12 :  "This  is 
my  commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have 
loved  you."  And  he  adds  it  to  the  decalogue,  John 
13 :  34 :  "A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that 
ye  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you  that  ye  also 
love  one  another."  This  new  command  requires  that 
men  shall  love  their  brethren  above  themselves  and 
be  ready  to  sacrifice  for  their  welfare.  As  he  gave  his 
life,  so  also  he  commanded  that  men  should  sacrifice 
for  their  fellows. 

Those  who  hear  his  voice  and  have  the  spirit  of 
obedience  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  make  any 
sacrifice  that  may  be  required  for  the  uplifting  of 
fallen  men. 

The  law  forbidding  the  Hebrews  exacting  usury  of 
their  brethren,  of  the  stranger  who  had  accepted  their 
faith  and  kept  the  passover,  of  the  stranger,  sojourner 


Teachings  of  the  Master.  47 

who  dwelt  among  them,  of  everybody  except  the 
Canaanite  who  was  under  the  condemnation  of  God, 
could  not  have  been  annulled  or  suspended  by  the 
divine  Master  who  thus  draws  together  and  embraces 
as  one  family  the  whole  race.  The  ties  of  Christian 
brotherhood  are  not  less  strong  than  the  ties  of  He- 
brew blood.  The  converts  from  heathen  to  Christian 
faith  are  not  less  dear  to  the  missionary  than  the  prose- 
lytes to  the  Hebrew  faith  were  to  the  Pharisees.  The 
foreigner  who  comes  into  a  Christian  community 
must  not  be  treated  with  less  justice  and  kindness 
than  the  wandering  Arab  who  strolled  into  Jerusalem 
for  a  trade.  It  cannot  be  that  the  relation  between 
Christians  is  like  that  between  the  Hebrew  and  the 
criminal  Canaanites  who  were  convicted  of  capital 
crimes  and  under  sentence  of  death.  As  usury  was 
repugnant  to  that  spirit  of  justice  and  brotherly  love 
that  obtained  in  the  Hebrew  State,  much  more  is  it 
repugnant  to  that  closer  brotherhood  into  which  we 
are  drawn  by  the  divine  Lord. 

4.  Again,  He  was  a  friend  of  the  poor  and  lowly. 
This  was  foretold  by  the  song  of  the  virgin,  when 
assured  that  she  should  be  the  mother  of  the  Savior. 
Luke  51 :  52,  53 :  "He  hath  put  down  the  mighty  from 
their  seats,  and  exalted  them  of  low  degree.  He  hath 
filled  the  hungry  with  good  things;  and  the  rich  He 
hath  sent  empty  away." 

The  prophets  foretold  that  He  should  be  the  friend 


48        Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

of  the  poor.  He  pointed  John  to  the  fulfilment  of 
these  prophecies  in  proof  of  his  Messiahship. 

In  his  first  address  in  the  explanation  of  the  new 
dispensation  he  began  by  saying,  "Blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit."  The  literal  rendering  would  be, 
"Blessed  are  the  poor,  to  the  Spirit."  This  is  the 
dative  singular  with  the  definite  article.  He  is  speak- 
ing of  external  conditions  as  contrasted  with  spiritual 
blessings,  and  those  conditions  thought  wretched  in 
the  world  were  especially  favorable  for  the  develop- 
ment of  grace.  The  poor,  humble,  mourning,  suffer- 
ing, and  persecuted  were  especially  blessed  in  his 
kingdom. 

The  word  rendered  poor  does  not  mean  pauper. 
There  is  a  great  difference.  The  poor  may  be  indus- 
trious, self-reliant  and  self-supporting.  There  is  no 
hint  of  dependence. 

In  Luke  he  says,  "Blessed  are  ye  poor."  When  at 
the  rich  man's  table,  he  told  his  host  that  he  would  be 
more  blessed  if  he  should  make  the  next  feast  to  the 
poor  and  defective,  that  could  make  him  no  return. 

He  was  uncompromising  in  his  denunciation  of  the 
rich.  Luke  6 :  24 :  "But  woe  unto  you  that  are  rich, 
for  ye  have  received  your  consolation."  He  showed 
the  danger  of  riches  in  the  parable  of  the  sower. 
Matt.  13:  22:  "He  also  that  received  seed  among 
thorns  is  he  that  heareth  the  word;  and  the  care  of 
this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the 
word,  and  it  becometh  unfruitful," 


Teachings  of  the  Master. 


Where  grace  is  to  be  cultivated  and  flourish,  the 
"greed  of  gain"  must  not  enter.  The  young  man  who 
came  to  him,  whom  he  loved  for  his  sweet  disposition 
and  excellent  character,  he  turned  away  by  the  answer 
that  his  wealth  was  incompatible  with  his  salvation. 
He  must  part  from  his  riches.  When  the  disciples 
were  surprised,  he  made  it  more  emphatic,  Matt. 
19  :  24  :  "And  again  I  say  unto  you,  it  is  easier  for  a 
camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God."  And  when 
they  felt  that  this  made  salvation  impossible,  he  de- 
clared it  could  only  be  possible  by  the  exercise  of 
omnipotent,  divine  grace. 

Zaccheus,  the  one  rich  man  whose  conversion  is 
recorded,  surrendered  his  ill-gotten  gain  fourfold  and 
gave  away  half  of  the  remainder  before  salvation  came 
to  his  house.  The  temptation  to  trust  and  lean  upon 
riches  is  irresistible. 

Our  Lord  did  not  make  wealth  more  dangerous 
than  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation  by  removing  the 
restraint  that  was  there  put  upon  it.  As  a  friend  to  the 
poor  he  did  not  give  wealth  an  advantage  it  did  not 
have  before. 

5.  The  whole  drift  of  his  teachings  limited  and 
restrained  accumulation  of  wealth.  The  parable  of  the 
rich  fool  is  a  forcible  presentation  of  its  human  folly 
on  the  earthly  side. 

"Whose  shall  these  things  be?" 

"Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth, 


50        Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves 
break  through  and  steal :  But  lay  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth 
corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  and 
steal :  For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your 
heart  be  also." 

The  result  is  irresistible;  when  engaged  in  storing 
earthly  treasure,  the  heart  will  be  earthly ;  or  if  laying 
up  treasures  in  heaven,  the  heart  will  reach  heaven- 
ward. He  who  labors  for  a  heavenly  reward,  will  be 
heavenly  minded. 

Treasures  are  stored  for  eternity,  when  used  for  the 
bringing  out  of  that  which  shall  survive  the  grave ;  for 
the  bringing  out  the  highest  divine  type  of  manhood 
and  womanhood,  in  ourselves,  in  our  children,  and  in 
all  the  children  of  men. 

Treasures  expended  in  the  development  of  immor- 
tals shall  be  found  when  the  earthly  and  temporal 
scenes  have  passed  away.  That  which  is  expended 
in  the  uplifting  of  the  race  shall  be  our  eternal  reward. 

Giving,  giving,  not  hoarding  is  commended.  Pro- 
ductive industry  he  enforced  by  his  example,  the 
carpenter  that  wrought  for  his  daily  bread.  He  chose 
workmen  to  be  his  followers.  He  taught  economy  in 
the  command  to  take  up  the  fragments  of  the  food 
miraculously  created  "that  nothing  be  lost,"  yet  unre- 
served giving  was  the  lesson  he  inculcated  and 
illustrated  in  his  life.  To  follow  his  example,  we  must 
produce  and  produce  much,  yet  what  we  gain  is  to  be 


Teachings  of  the  Master.  51 

expended,  so  as  to  promote  the  highest  welfare  of  all 
mankind.  We  must  not  store  the  fruits  of  our  labor, 
but  expend,  not  as  a  spendthrift  who  wastes,  but 
judiciously  and  wisely  for  God  and  man.  Our  giving 
is  only  limited  by  the  ability  and  facility  to  produce. 
Our  Lord  did  not  greatly  add  to  the  temptation  to 
hoard  by  delivering  the  earthly  treasures  from  the 
decay  by  "moth  and  rust"  and  instead  permitting 
their  increase.  Our  hoarding  of  earthly  treasures 
must  be  limited,  because  of  our  disposition  to  trust  in 
them.  We  must  always  be  so  dependent  that  we 
shall  pray  truly  with  the  spirit  of  dependence,  "Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  "Give  me  neither  pov- 
erty nor  riches ;  feed  me  with  food  convenient  for  me." 
Thrift  does  not  require  that  we  shall  hoard  an 
amount  that  will  support  us  through  life,  much  less 
that  we  shall  lay  up  a  fortune,  that  shall  free  our  chil- 
dren from  the  necessity  of  productive  labor.  The 
spirit  of  the  Master's  teachings  is,  that  each  age  shall 
produce  and  spend  its  product  for  its  own  advance- 
ment, then  each  succeeding  age  shall  be  better  fitted 
to  produce  and  care  for  itself  and  so  advance  the  com- 
ing generations.  "Go  work  today  in  my  vineyard." 
Now  is  the  time  to  give  and  do  for  the  generation  yet 
unborn. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
PARABLES  OF  THE  TALENTS  AND  THE  POUNDS. 

Our  Lord  mentions  usury  by  name  only  in  the 
parables  of  the  talents  and  pounds.  Matt.  25 : 14-30; 
Luke  19 : 12-27.  Usury  is  mentioned  in  these  passa- 
ges incidentally  to  meet  the  excuses  of  worthless 
servants,  but  in  both  as  the  unjust  and  oppressive  act 
of  a  hard  and  dishonest  man.  These  references  to 
usury  are  in  entire  harmony  with  the  expressions  of 
David  and  Solomon,  and  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel. 

These  servants  in  the  parables  were  slaves,  who 
owed  their  service  to  their  master  and  for  whom  he 
was  responsible. 

The  lesson  in  both  parables  is  the  necessity  of  faith- 
fulness. The  faithful  servants  are  rewarded  and  the 
unfaithful  punished  in  both.  Yet  there  is  a  special 
lesson  in  each. 

The  parable  of  the  talents  shows  that  an  equal 
reward  shall  be  given  all  who  are  equally  faithful, 
though  the  means  and  opportunities  afforded  one  may 
far  exceed  those  granted  another.  One  was  given 
five  talents  and  another  but  two ;  one  gained  five  and 
the  other  two,  yet  both  equally  faithful,  are  directed 
to  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  lord. 

The  unfaithful  servant  brings  his  talent  with  an 
excuse,  which  is  a  charge  against  the  character  of  his 
(52) 


Parables  of  the  Talents  and  the  Pounds.  53 

master,  "I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  an  hard  man  reap- 
ing where  thou  hast  not  sown,  and  gathering  where 
thou  hast  not  strewed,"  "so  there  thou  hast  which  is 
thine." 

The  master  in  reply  showed  the  inconsistency  of 
the  excuse  by  assuming  that  he  bore  the  hard  charac- 
ter charged  upon  him  by  his  slave,  "Thou  wicked  and 
slothful  servant,  thou  knewest  that  I  reap  where  I 
sowed  not,  and  gather  where  I  have  not  strewed: 
Thou  oughtest  therefore  to  have  put  my  money  to  the 
exchangers,  and  then  at  my  coming  I  should  have 
received  mine  own  with  usury."  It  is  "interest"  in  the 
Revised  Version. 

This  interview  may  be  paraphrased  as  follows : 

The  unfaithful  servant  said :  "I  know  the  kind  of 
a  man  you  are.  You  are  dishonest.  You  take  what 
does  not  belong  to  you.  You  reap  what  other  people 
sow,  and  you  take  up  what  others  earn.  I  was  afraid 
of  you:  Here  is  all  that  you  gave  me  and  all  that 
belongs  to  you." 

The  master  said :  "You  are  merely  excusing  your- 
self. You  are  a  lazy  faithless  slave.  If  I  am  the  hard 
man  you  say  I  am,  taking  what  does  not  belong  to  me 
and  gathering  the  sowings  and  earnings  of  others, 
you  could  have  met  that  condition  without  trouble  to 
yourself,  by  giving  my  money  to  the  usurers  and  then 
at  my  coming  I  could  have  received  my  unjust  gain. 
Your  excuse  is  inconsistent,  you  condemn  yourself. 


54       Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

You  are  an  indolent  and  worthless  slave.  Begone  to 
your  punishment." 

It  is  clearly  implied  that  unearned  increase,  reaping 
and  gathering  without  sowing,  could  be  gained 
through  the  exchangers.  If  this  was  what  was  de- 
manded, the  servant  could  have  secured  this  with  no 
effort  on  his  part.  His  charge  against  the  master  was 
a  mere  pretence  to  excuse  his  own  want  of  personal 
faithfulness,  and  the  master's  reply  was  fitted  to  this 
pretense. 

This  is  in  entire  harmony  with  the  opinion  our 
Lord  expressed  of  the  exchangers  when  he  called 
them  thieves  and  drove  them  out  of  the  temple.  It 
would  be  wholly  inconsistent  for  him  to  advise  an 
honest  and  faithful  servant  to  place  any  portion  of  the 
property  in  their  hands.  His  advice  can  only  come 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  dishonest  master  such  as  his 
servant  called  him. 

The  parable  of  the  pounds  shows  the  degrees  of 
faithfulness  in  those  who  have  equal  opportunities. 
With  the  same  opportunities  one  may  far  surpass 
another,  because  more  faithful  to  his  trust,  his  reward 
is  proportionately  greater. 

In  this  parable  each  servant  received  the  same,  but 
the  gains  and  rewards  differ.  By  diligence  one 
gained  ten  ponds  and  is  commended  and  given 
authority  over  ten  cities.  Another  gained  five 
pounds.  He  is  also  commended  and  given  authority 
over  five  cities. 


Parables  of  the  Talents  and  the  Pounds.  55 

Another,  who  had  given  no  service,  came  with  his 
pound  but  without  increase.  This  was  a  proof  of  his 
unfaithfulness.  He  endeavors  to  shield  himself  like 
the  servant  with  the  talent,  by  charging  injustice  and 
oppression  on  his  master.  "I  feared  thee  because 
thou  art  an  austere  man:  thou  takest  up  that  thou 
layest  not  down,  and  reapest  that  thou  didst  not  sow." 

His  master  turned  on  him  because  his  own  reason 
was  inconsistent  with  his  conduct  and  a  mere  shield 
for  his  indolence  and  worthlessness.  "Out  of  thine 
own  mouth  will  I  judge  thee,  thou  wicked  servant. 
Thou  knowest  that  I  was  an  austere  man,  taking  up 
that  I  laid  not  down,  and  reaping  that  I  did  not  sow. 
Wherefore  gavest  thou  not  my  money  into  the  bank, 
that  at  my  coming  I  might  have  required  mine  own 
with  usury." 

This  interview  may  also  be  paraphrased. 

The  unfaithful  slave  came  and  said :  "Lord  I  have 
carefully  kept  all  that  thou  gavest  me.  I  knew  that 
thou  wast  an  exacting  master,  taking  what  did  not 
belong  to  you  and  gathering  what  others  sow." 

The  master  says :  "Now  stop  right  there  and  I  will 
judge  you  by  your  own  excuse  out  of  your  own 
mouth.  You  say  you  knew  me  to  be  exacting  and 
dishonest,  taking  more  than  belonged  to  me.  Now, 
knowing  this,  why  did  you  not  serve  me  by  giving  my 
money  to  the  bank,  and  then  at  my  coming  you  could 
have  brought  me  my  money  with  my  unjust  gain  and 
that  would  have  pleased  a  hard  man  like  me,  without 


56          Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

effort  on  your  part.  You  are  only  giving  this  as  an 
excuse  for  your  own  unfaithfulness.  You  are  a 
wicked  slave." 

The  master  admits  that  he  would  be  a  hard  man,  if 
he  reaped  what  another  sowed,  or  took  up  what 
belonged  to  another,  but  assuming  that  this  was  his 
character,  even  this  could  have  been  met  without 
trouble  to  the  slave  through  the  bank.  This  is  a  clear 
recognition  of  usury  as  unjust  gain. 

Exchangers  were  little  more  than  the  pawn-brokers 
of  today  and  a  bank  was  a  pawn-shop  where  pledges 
were  stored.  The  money  loaned  upon  any  pawn  was 
much  less  than  its  full  value.  The  .increase  of  the 
loan  soon  made  it  more  than  the  value  of  the  pledge 
which  was  then  forfeited,  and  the  pawn  was  sold  by 
the  broker. 

These  parables  are  here  dwelt  upon,  for  they  are  so 
frequently  misunderstood  and  misapplied.  In  a  large 
volume  on  "Banking,"  the  writer  found  the  words  of 
the  master  quoted,  "Wherefore  then  gavest  not  thou 
my  money  into  the  bank,  that  at  my  coming  I  might 
have  required  my  own  with  usury."  And  they  were 
quoted  as  a  solemn  direction  of  the  divine  Master  to 
deposit  money  in  the  bank. 

To  quote  from  these  parables  in  the  defense  of 
usury  is  as  flagrant  a  perversion  of  the  truth  as  the 
famous  quotation  to  prove  that  Paul  encouraged  theft. 
"Let  him  that  stole,  steal." 

The  lessons  of  these  parables  are  in  entire  harmony 


Parables  of  the  Talents  and  the  Pounds.  57 

with  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  teachings  of  the 
prophets  and  Nehemiah.  In  these  parables  the 
usurer  is  presented  as  a  hard  man,  exacting  that 
which  he  has  not  earned  and  to  which  he  has  no  right. 
The  teachings  of  the  Master  did  not  permit  what 
had  been  forbidden  in  all  the  ages. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PRACTICE  OF  THE  DISCIPLES. 

The  conditions  in  the  very  early  church  were  not 
such  as  to  make  prominent  the  sin  of  usury.  Many 
of  the  disciples  were  very  poor  and  from  the  humblest 
walks  of  life.  I  Cor.  1 :  27-28 :  "But  God  hath  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise ; 
and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  that  are  mighty;  and  the  base 
things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised, 
hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  the  things  which  are  not, 
to  bring  to  nought  things  that  are." 

The  practice  of  the  disciples  was,  however,  in  entire 
harmony  with  the  teachings  of  Moses  and  the  Master, 
and  in  accord  with  the  prohibition  of  usury.  Later, 
in  the  time  of  the  apostolic  fathers  when  the  church 
came  face  to  face  with  this  sin,  there  was  but  one  voice 
and  that  in  the  denunciation,  for  the  fathers  were 
unanimous  in  its  condemnation. 

(1)  The  first  disciples  did  not  loan,  but  gave  to 
their  needy  brethren.  The  early  converts  held  their 
property  so  subject  to  a  general  call  that  some  have 
thought  they  had  a  community  of  goods. 

Acts  2:44,  45:  "And  all  that  believed  were 
together,  and  had  all  things  common ;  *  *  *  and 
(58) 


Practice  of  the  Disciples.  59 

sold  their  possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them  to 
all  men,  as  every  man  had  need." 

It  is  evident  they  did  not  assist  their  brethren  with 
"loans,"  but  with  gifts;  much  less  did  they  take  the 
opportunity  to  secure  increase  on  loans. 

The  suffering  poor  were  their  especial  care.  They 
gave  of  their  poverty  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering. 
Many  called  by  the  Spirit  were  in  want,  and  many 
came  to  want  through  the  severe  persecutions  to 
which  they  were  subjected.  This  was  especially  true 
of  the  converts  in  Jerusalem.  For  these  large  collec- 
tions were  received  from  the  churches  in  Macedonia 
and  in  Corinth. 

They  were  commanded  to  care  for  the  needy  of 
their  own  house.  I  Tim.  5:8:  "But  if  any  provide 
not  for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own 
house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an 
infidel."  Paul,  in  giving  directions  to  Timothy,  as 
to  the  care  of  their  poor,  requires  aid  to  be  given  to 
"widows  indeed,"  those  who  have  no  children;  but 
those  who  have  children  or  nephews  are  to  look  to 
them  and  be  supported  by  them,  and  if  any  person 
refuses  to  care  for  his  widowed  mother  or  grand- 
mother or  dependent  aunt,  "he  hath  denied  the  faith 
and  is  worse  than  an  infidel." 

(2)  They  were  diligent  in  business.  They  pro- 
vided things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men. 

Paul  set  the  example  during  his  itinerate  ministry 
by  working  at  his  trade  to  secure  his  support  and  his 


60      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

dictum  has  been  accepted  as  both  divine  and  human 
wisdom  ever  since.  "If  any  will  not  work  neither 
shall  he  eat." 

Diligence  was  enjoined  for  self-support,  and  that 
others  might  be  helped.  Eph.  4 :  28 :  "Let  him  that 
stole,  steal  no  more;  but  rather  let  him  labor,  work- 
ing with  his  hands,  the  things  which  is  good,  that  he 
may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth."  The  effort 
was  first  by  labor  to  be  independent  and  then  also  to 
come  to  the  relief  of  the  feeble,  the  sick,  the  poor,  and 
the  needy.  That  a  man  could  honestly  secure  a  liveli- 
hood without  productive  labor  was  foreign  to  their 
way  of  thinking.  If  any  did  not  work  he  did  not 
deserve  a  living,  nor  was  he  an  honest  man.  No  one 
was  at  liberty  to  be  idle.  Productive  effort  must 
not  be  relaxed.  There  was  no  retiring  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  competency. 

There  was  no  thought  of  such  a  provision  to  free 
them  from  the  effort  for  the  daily  bread.  The  surplus 
product  was  given  for  the  aid  of  others,  to  those  who 
had  claims  of  kinship  first,  then  to  all  who  had  need. 

The  instant  a  man  failed  to  produce  he  began  to 
consume.  There  is  no  hint  anywhere  that  it  entered 
any  of  their  minds  that  they  could  stop  production 
and  live  in  ease  from  the  increase  of  what  they  had 
produced  and  the  supply  grow  no  less ;  that  the  meal 
and  oil  should  not  fail,  but  be  handed  down  unim- 
paired to  their  children. 

(3)     Covetousness  was  hated  and  denounced  and 


Practice  of  the  Disciples.  61 

classed  with  the  most  flagrant  violations  of  the  moral 
law. 

Covetousness  is  an  inordinate  regard  for  wealth  of 
any  kind.  This  may  be  shown  in  the  greed  of  seek- 
ing it,  without  proper  regard  for  the  rights  of  others ; 
or  in  parsimony  or  stinginess  in  holding  it,  when  there 
are  rightful  claims  upon  it. 

James  5:1-6:  "Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weap  and 
howl  for  your  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you. 
Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are 
moth  eaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered;  and 
the  rust  of  them  shall  be  witness  against  you,  and  shall 
eat  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  You  have  heaped 
treasure  together  for  the  last  days. 

"Behold,  the  hire  of  the  laborers  who  have  reaped 
down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud, 
crieth :  and  the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are 
entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabbaoth. 

"Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth,  and 
been  wanton ;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts,  as  in  a 
day  of  slaughter.  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the 
just,  and  he  doth  not  resist  you." 

Covetousness  may  also  be  shown  in  undue  respect 
for  wealth  when  in  the  hands  of  others.  This  is 
reproved  in  James  2 :  1-7.  "My  brethren,  have  not 
the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory, 
with  respect  of  persons.  For  if  there  come  unto  your 
assembly  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel, 
and  there  come  also  a  poor  man  in  vile  raiment ;  and 


62       Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

ye  have  respect  to  him  that  weareth  the  gay  clothing, 
and  say  unto  him,  Sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place ;  and 
say  to  the  poor  man,  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here 
under  my  footstool :  Are  ye  not  then  partial  in  your- 
selves, and  become  the  judges  of  evil  thoughts? 
Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren,  hath  not  God  chosen 
the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the 
kingdom  which  he  hath  promised  them  that  love  him? 
But  ye  have  despised  the  poor.  Do  not  rich  men 
oppress  you,  and  draw  you  before  the  judgment  seats? 
Do  not  they  blaspheme  that  worthy  name  by  which 
ye  are  called  ?" 

Covetousness  was  a  secret  sin  often  indulged  when 
the  outward  forms  of  righteousness  were  observed. 
Usurers  were  the  open  representatives  of  flagrant 
covetousness  in  all  the  ages.  Usury  was  not  named 
among  them  as  becometh  saints. 

(4)  The  early  disciples  kept  out  of  debt.  The 
early  Christians  were  not  borrowers.  In  both  dispen- 
sations borrowing  was  only  resor.ted  to  in  hard 
necessity.  The  borrower  was  second  to  the  beggar. 
The  borrowing  was  but  for  a  short  time,  and  the  loan 
was  returned  as  soon  as  absolute  wants  were  supplied. 

The  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  early  church  was 
to  owe  no  man  anything.  Rom.  13  :  8 :  "Owe  no  man 
anything,  but  to  love  one  another :  for  he  that  loveth 
another  hath  fulfilled  the  law." 

Indebtedness  was  to  be  avoided  as  compromising 


Practice  of  the  Disciples.  63 

the  faith  in  the  eyes  of  others  and  detrimental  to  the 
development  of  grace  in  the  disciples. 

This  was  the  direct  command  of  Paul.  This  com- 
mandment required  the  payment  of  all  honest  obliga- 
tions. The  Christian  then  as  now  who  failed  to 
acknowledge  his  obligations  and  meet  them  in  full  as 
he  was  able  was  wanting  in  the  spirit  of  righteousness 
and  unfaithful  to  his  own  convictions  of  right  and 
duty. 

The  payment  of  a  debt  was  the  return  in  full  of  the 
loan  received. 

Any  Christian  conscience  at  that  time  would  have 
been  satisfied  with  the  settlement  approved  and  com- 
manded by  Nehemiah.  The  debt  was  fully  discharged 
when  payments  equaled  the  loan  by  whatever  name 
those  payments  were  called. 

This  text  also  required  that  they  keep  out  of  debt. 
By  no  distortion  of  the  text  can  it  be  made  to  mean 
less.  Chalmers  on  this  passage  comments  as  follows : 
"But  though  to  press  the  duty  of  our  text  in  the 
extreme  and  rigorous  sense  of  it — yet  I  would  fain 
aspire  towards  the  full  and  practical  establishment  of 
it,  so  that  the  habit  might  become  at  length  universal, 
not  only  paying  all  debts,  but  even  by  making  con- 
science never  to  contract,  and  therefore  never  to  owe 
any.  For  although  this  might  never  be  reached,  it 
is  well  it  should  be  looked  at,  nay  moved  forward  to, 
as  a  sort  of  optimism,  every  approximation  to  which 
were  a  distinct  step  in  advance,  both  for  the  moral  and 


64      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

economic  good  of  society.  For,  first,  in  the  world 
of  trade,  one  can  not  be  insensible  to  the  dire  mischief 
that  ensues  from  the  spirit  often  so  rampant,  of  an 
excessive  and  unwarrantable  speculation — so  as  to 
make  it  the  most  desirable  of  all  consummations  that 
the  system  of  credit  should  at  length  give  way,  and 
what  has  been  termed  the  ready-money  system,  the 
system  of  immediate  payments  in  every  commercial 
transaction,  should  be  substituted  in  its  place.  The 
adventurer  who,  in  the  walks  of  merchandise, 
trades  beyond  his  means  is  often  actuated  by  a  passion 
as  intense,  and  we  fear  too,  as  criminal,  as  is  the  game- 
ster, who  in  the  haunts  of  fashionable  dissipation, 
stakes  beyond  his  fortune.  But  it  is.  not  the  injury 
alone,  which  the  ambition  that  precipitates  him  into 
such  deep  and  desperate  hazards,  brings  upon  his  own 
character,  neither  is  it  the  ruin  that  the  splendid 
bankrupty  in  which  it  terminates  brings  upon  his  own 
family. 

These  are  not  the  only  evils  which  we  deprecate — 
for  over  and  above  these  there  is  a  far  heavier  disaster, 
a  consequence  in  the  train  of  such  proceedings,  of 
greatly  wider  and  more  malignant  operation  still,  on 
the  habit  and  condition  of  the  working  classes,  gath- 
ered in  hundreds  around  the  mushroom  establishment, 
and  then  thrown  adrift  among  the  other  wrecks  of  its 
overthrow,  in  utter  helplessness  and  destitution  on 
society.  This  frenzy  of  men  hasting  to  be  rich,  like 
fever  in  the  body  natural,  is  a  truly  sore  distemper  in 


Practice  of  the  Disciples.  65 

the  body  politic.  No  doubt  they  are  also  sufferers 
themselves,  piercing-  their  own  hearts  through  with 
many  sorrows;  but  it  is  the  contemplation  of  this 
suffering  in  masses,  which  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
industry  in  humble  life  so  often  earn  at  their  hands, 
that  has  ever  led  me  to  rank  them  among  the  chief 
pests  and  disturbers  of  a  commonwealth." 

To  this  may  be  added  an  extract  from  "Short  In- 
structions for  Early  Masses  by  the  Paulist  Fathers." 
"The  fact  of  the  matter  is,  dear  brethren,,  that  there  is 
too  much  laxity  of  conscience  among  our  people  on 
this  question  of  contracting  debts,  of  borrowing 
money,  of  running  up  bills  with  little  or  no  hope  of 
ever  paying  them.  We  have  all  of  us  no  doubt  come 
across  people  who  consider  themselves  quite  religious 
who  owe  money  to  their  neighbors  for  years,  and 
never  make  an  effort  to  pay  what  they  owe  or  even 
to  offer  an  excuse  for  their  negligence  in  such  import- 
ant matters. 

There  are  some  professional  debtors  who  think  the 
world  owes  them  a  living,  and  who  spend  a  good  part 
of  their  time  figuring  out  how  much  they  can  get  out 
of  the  land  and  from  those  who  dwell  thereon.  To 
have  to  pay  rent  is  their  greatest  grievance,  and  after 
being  trusted  for  a  few  months,  they  find  it  much 
cheaper  to  move  to  other  quarters  than  to  pay  what 
they  owe. 

Then  there  are  others  who  must  dress  extrava- 
gantly, no  matter  what  it  costs,  and  in  consequence 


66      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

have  nothing  left  to  pay  for  the  things  they  eat  or 
drink.  Do  they  on  this  account  deny  themselves  any 
of  the  good  things  of  this  life?  Not  at  all;  on  the 
contrary,  every  business  man  will  tell  you  the  same 
story — these  people  want  the  best  and  are  the  most 
exacting  in  their  demands. 

Now,  I  repeat,  there  is  too  much  laxity  about  con- 
tracting debts  and  too  little  conscience  about  the 
necessity  of  paying  for  what  we  use.  St.  Paul's  warn- 
ing should  ring  in  the  ears  of  every  debtor:  "Owe 
no  man  anything."  It  will  not  do  for  such  people  to 
come  to  confession  and  say  they  contracted  debts  and 
are  not  able  to  pay  what  they  owe.  Confession  will 
not  relieve  them  of  their  obligation, .  and  they  must 
begin  at  once  and  make  an  effort  to  lessen  the  debts 
they  owe  in  the  past  and  learn  a  lesson  in  economy 
and  strive  against  contracting  new  burdens.  This 
will  help  us  to  clear  off  the  old  ones. 

It  is  not  edifying,  nor  is  it  conducive  to  good  fellow- 
ship, nor  does  it  help  to  make  our  religion  better 
known  and  better  loved,  to  find  people,  dressed  in 
the  finest,  coming  Sunday  after  Sunday  to  mass 
while  they  are  heavily  in  debt  to  their  grocer  or 
butcher  or  landlord,  who  may  be  in  the  very  same  pew 
with  them.  This  is  certain,  it  convinces  such  men  in 
business  that  the  debtor's  religion  is  not  very  sincere. 

In  a  word,  brethren,  it  is  far  better  to  live  in  less 
pretentious  dwellings,  dress  more  soberly  and  eat 
more  sparingly  than  to  owe  any  man  anything.  Pay 


Practice  of  the  Disciples.  67 

what  thou  owest,  and  then  you  may  walk  honestly 
among  all  men." 

Freedom  from  debt  is  necessary  to  the  independ- 
ence of  the  man  who  does  right  and  answers  only  to 
God.  Struggle  as  he  may  the  man  is  not  free  who  is 
under  obligations  to  others.  He  is  hindered  in  his 
conduct;  he  is  not  always  conscious  of  it,  but  never- 
theless there  is  a  real  binding  or  fettering  of  his 
actions.  It  influences  his  gifts,  for  what  he  holds  is 
not  his  own  and  the  owner  may  criticize  his  benevo- 
lence. 

An  easy  conscience  and  sound  sleep  is  the  portion 
of  the  man  who  is  under  no  obligations  to  another. 
He  looks  the  whole  world  in  the  face,  who  owes  no 
man  a  cent. 

He  is  free  from  distracting  business  relations  with 
his  brethren  and  brotherly  love  may  abound.  The 
exhortation  of  Paul  is  in  connection  with  brotherly 
love,  and  of  all  external  relations,  debt  hinders  the  free 
flow  of  sympathy  among  brethren. 

The  early  disciples  endeavored  to  avoid  all  debt. 
Much  less  did  they  pay  a  premium  for  the  privilege. 
They  only  borrowed  in  hard  necessity ;  but  borrowing 
on  usury  to  make  a  profit  by  it  was  as  repellant  to  the 
Christian  conscience  then  as  complicity  with  theft 
or  fraud.  It  marked  a  man  as  anxious  to  share  in 
unrighteous  gain.  His  own  conscience  placed  him 
among  those  who  are  discontented  with  their  lawful 
estate  and  guilty  of  that  covetousness  which  is  idola- 


68      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

try.  I  Tim.  6 :  6-11 :  "But  godliness  with  content- 
ment is  great  gain.  For  we  brought  nothing  into 
this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out. 
And  having  food  and  raiment,  let  us  be  therewith 
content.  But  they  that  will  be  rich  fall  into  tempta- 
tion and  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful 
lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition. 
For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil:  which 
while  some  coveted  after,  they  have  erred  in  the  faith, 
and  pierced  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows. 
But  thou,  O  man  of  God,  flee  these  things ;  and  follow 
after  righteousness,  godliness,  faith,  love,  patience, 
meekness." 


' 

.£<>  X  ; 
--• 
• 


CHAPTER  X. 
CHURCH  HISTORY. 

The  Church,  from  the  time  of  the  apostles,  was 
emphatic  in  its  denunciation  of  usury. 

Schaff-Herzog  says:  "All  the  apostolic  fathers 
condemned  the  taking  of  usury."  The  Encyclopedia 
of  Religious  Knowledge  declares  the  same. 

Chrysostom  said :  "Nothing  is  baser  in  this  world 
than  usury,  nothing  more  cruel/' 

Basil  describes  a  scene  so  real  that  we  can  scarcely 
realize  that  he  wrote  over  fifteen  hundred  years  ago. 
After  stating  the  usurer's  protestations  of  having  no 
money,  to  the  victim,  who  seeks  a  loan  without  inter- 
est, he  says:  "Then  the  suppliant  mentions  interest 
and  utters  the  word  security.  All  is  changed.  The 
frown  is  relaxed;  with  a  genial  smile  he  recounts  old 
family  connections.  Now  it  is  'My  friend,  I  will  see 
if  I  have  any  money  by  me.  Yes,  there  is  that  very 
sum  which  a  man,  I  know,  has  left  in  my  hands  in 
deposit  for  profit.  He  named  a  very  heavy  interest. 
However,  I  will  certainly  take  something  off  and  give 
it  to  you  on  better  terms.'  With  pretenses  like  this 
he  fawns  on  the  wretched  victim  and  induces  him  to 
swallow  the  barb." 

Of  the  man  who  has  borrowed  on  interest,  he  says : 
"At  first  he  is  bright  and  joyous  and  shines  with 

(69) 


70     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

another's  splendor  *  *  now  night  brings  no 

rest,  no  sun  is  bright.  He  hates  the  days  that  are 
hurrying  on,  for  time  as  it  runs  adds  the  interest  to  its 
tale." 

The  fathers  unanimously  Condemned  the  taking  of 
interest.  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Ambrose,  Augustine 
and  Jerome  can  be  quoted  against  it.  The  popes 
followed  the  teachings  of  the  fathers  and  forbade  it 
under  severe  penalties.  The  priests  guilty  of  this  sin 
were  degraded  from  their  orders.  The  laymen  found 
guilty  were  excommunicated.  Interest  paid  could  be 
reclaimed,  not  only  from  the  usurer  but  from  his 
heirs.  A  bargain,  though  confirmed  by  an  oath  never 
to  claim  back  the  interest  paid,  was  declared  not 
binding.  This  action  of  the  popes  was  confirmed  by 
councils. 

Charlemagne,  in  France,  forbid  the  taking  of 
usury  either  by  priests  or  laity. 

A  council  at  Westminster  (1126)  approved  the 
degredation  of  all  clergy,  who  were  guilty  of  this  prac- 
tice. 

Archbishop  Sands  said :  "This  canker  (usury)  hath 
corrupted  all  England." 

A  council  in  Vienna  (1311)  reaffirmed  the  denun- 
ciations of  previous  popes  and  councils,  and  then 
adds:  "If  any  shall  obstinately  persist  in  the  error 
of  presuming  to  affirm  that  the  taking  of  usury 
is  not  a  sin,  we  decree  that  he  shall  be  punished  as  a 
heretic/' 


Church  History.  71 

There  is  no  record  of  the  repeal  of  any  of  these 
edicts. 

The  leaders  of  the  Protestant  reformation  also 
denounced  usury. 

Luther  was  violent  in  his  opposition,  using  the 
strongest  language  he  could  command.  "Whoever 
eats  up,  robs  and  steals  the  nourishment  of  another, 
commits  as  great  a  murder,  as  he  who  carves  a  man 
or  utterly  undoes  him.  Such  does  a  usurer,  and  he 
sits  the  while  on  his  stool,  when  he  ought  rather  to  be 
hanging  from  the  gallows." 

Melancthon,  Beza  and  others  are  accounted  against 
usury. 

The  decisions  of  Ecclesiastical  Councils  were 
numerous  and  emphatic  until  the  seventeenth  century. 
Since  that  time  interest  taking  has  become  common, 
all  but  universal,  but  there  is  no  record  found  any- 
where of  its  direct  approval  by  any  ecclesiastical  body. 
The  Church  has  come  to  tolerate  it  but  has  never 
given  it  official  approval. 

Usury  has  not  been  included  in  any  creed  or  con- 
fession of  faith,  nor  has  it  been  directly  approved  by 
any  council  or  general  assembly. 

The  truth  has  not  been  left  in  any  age  without 
its  witness.  There  have  always  been  those  more  or 
less  prominent  in  the  Church  who  contended  that  it 
was  unjust  and  oppressive.  Some  of  them  have  been 
of  world-wide  distinction.  The  writer  has  a  letter 
written  him  by  John  Clark  Ridpath,  the  historian, 


72      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

expressing  his  agreement  with  the  views  presented 
in  these  pages.  Another  of  these  is  brilliant  John 
Ruskin,  recently  deceased.  Quotations  from  him  will 
close  this  review. 

"I  have  not  so  perverted  my  soul  nor  palsied  my 
brain  as  to  expect  to  be  advantaged  by  that  adhesion 
(usury).  I  do  not  expect  that  because  I  have  gath- 
ered much  to  find  Nature  or  man  gathering  more  for 
me ;  to  find  eighteen  pence  in  my  box  in  the  morning 
instead  of  the  shilling  as  a  reward  of  my  continence, 
or  to  make  an  income  of  my  Koran  by  lending  it  to 
poor  scholars.  If  I  think  he  can  read  it  and  will  care- 
fully turn  the  leaves  by  the  outside,  he  is  welcome  to 
read  it  for  nothing." 

"Thus  in  all  other  possible  or  conceivable  cases,  the 
moment  our  capital  is  increased  by  having  lent  it,  be 
it  but  the  estimation  of  a  hair,  that  hair-breadth  of 
increase  is  usury,  just  as  much  as  stealing  a  farthing 
is  theft  no  less  than  stealing  a  million." 


CHAPTER  XL 
CALVIN'S  LETTER  ON  USURY. 

A  mere  hint  of  encouragement  to  the  usurer  came 
from  Calvin.  In  a  letter,  to  a  friend,  he  hesitatingly 
expressed  opinions  that  have  ever  since  been  quoted 
in  defense  of  the  practice.  He  alone  of  all  the  re- 
formers took  a  doubtful  stand.  He  has  often  been 
referred  to  and  given  great  credit  for  his  opinion, 
even  by  those  who  utterly  reject  all  the  doctrines  he 
most  earnestly  advocated.  The  fear  that  he  expressed 
near  the  opening,  that  some  word  might  be  seized  to 
take  more  license  than  he  would  allow  had  reason,  for 
this  letter  has  been  the  basis  for  all  the  apologies  for 
usury  that  have  ever  been  attempted.  In  these  last 
days  all  who  have  tried  to  present  fully  the  moral  law 
as  comprehended  in  the  ten  commandments  have  felt 
called  upon  to  make  some  apology  for  the  prevailing 
practice  of  usury  in  connection  with  the  eighth  com- 
mand. They  all  refer  to  this  letter.  Sometimes  there 
is  a  brief  quotation,  given  in  Latin  and  left  untrans- 
lated, to  convince  the  ignorant,  for  Calvin'  wrote  in 
Latin. 

Letter  of  Calvin:    De  Usuris  Responsum. 

"I  have  not  yet  essayed  what  could  fitly  be  ans- 
wered to  the  question  put  to  me ;  but  I  have  learned 
by  the  example  of  others  with  how  great  danger  this 

(73) 


74      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

matter  is  attended.  For  if  all  usury  is  condemned 
tighter  fetters  are  imposed  on  the  conscience  than  the 
Lord  himself  would  wish.  Or  if  you  yield  in  the  least, 
with  that  pretext,  very  many  will  at  once  seize  upon 
unlicensed  freedom,  which  can  then  be  restrained  by 
no  moderation  or  restriction.  Were  I  writing  to  you 
alone  I  would  fear  this  the  less ;  for  I  know  your  good 
sense  and  moderation,  but  as  you  ask  counsel  in  the 
name  of  another,  I  fear,  lest  he  may  allow  himself  far 
more  than  I  wish  by  seizing  upon  some  word,  yet  con- 
fident that  you  will  look  closely  into  his  character  and 
from  the  matter  that  is  here  treated  judge  what  is  ex- 
pedient, and  to  what  extent,  I  shall  open  my  thoughts 
to  you. 

"And  first,  I  am  certain  that  by  no  testimony  of 
Scripture  is  usury  wholly  condemned.  For  the  sense 
of  that  saying  of  Christ,  'Lend,  hoping  for  nothing 
again'  (Luke  6:  35),  has  up  to  this  time  been  per- 
verted; the  same  as  another  passage  when  speaking 
of  splendid  feasts  and  the  desire  of  the  rich  to  be 
received  in  turn,  he  commands  them  rather  to  sum- 
mon to  these  feasts,  the  blind,  the  lame,  and  other 
needy  men,  who  lie  at  the  cross-roads  and  have  not 
the  power  to  make  a  like  return.  Christ  wished  to 
restrain  men's  abuse  of  lending,  commands  them  to 
lend  to  those  from  whom  there  is  no  hope  of  receiving 
or  regaining  anything;  and  his  words  ought  to  be 
interpreted,  that  while  he  would  command  loans  to 
the  poor  without  expectation  of  repayment  or  the 


Calvin's  Letter  on  Usury.  75 

receipt  of  interest,  he  did  not  mean  at  the  same  time 
to  forbid  loans  to  the  rich  with  interest,  any  more  than 
the  injunction  to  invite  the  poor  to  our  feasts  did  not 
imply  that  the  mutual  invitation  of  friends  to  feasts  is 
in  consequence  prohibited.  Again  the  law  of  Moses 
was  political  and  should  not  influence  us  beyond  what 
justice  and  philanthropy  will  bear. 

"It  could  be  wished  that  all  usury  and  the  name  it- 
self were  first  banished  from  the  earth.  But  as  this 
cannot  be  accomplished  it  should  be  seen  what  can  be 
done  for  the  public  good.  Certain  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture remain  in  the  Prophets  and  Psalms  in  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  inveighs  against  usury.  Thus  a  city  is 
described  as  wicked  because  usury  is  practiced  in  the 
forum  and  streets,  but  as  the  Hebrew  word  means 
frauds  in  general,  this  cannot  be  interpreted  so 
strictly.  But  if  we  concede  that  the  prophet  there 
mentions  usury  by  name,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  wonder 
that  among  the  great  evils  which  existed,  he  should 
attack  usury.  For  wherever  gains  are  farmed  out, 
there  are  generally  added,  as  inseparable,  cruelty,  and 
numberless  other  frauds  and  deceits. 

"On  the  other  hand  it  is  said  in  praise  of  a  pious 
and  holy  man  'that  he  putteth  not  out  his  money  to 
usury/  Indeed  it  is  very  rare  for  a  man  to  be  honest 
and  yet  a  usurer. 

"Ezekiel  goes  even  further  (Ezek.  22 : 12).  Enumer 
ating  the  crimes  which  inflamed  the  wrath  of  the  Lord 
against  the  Jews,  he  uses  two  words,  one  of  whicf 


76     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

means  usury,  and  is  derived  from  a  root  meaning  to 
consume ;  the  other  word  means  increase  or  addition, 
doubtless  because  one  devoted  to  his  private  gain 
takes  or  rather  extorts  it  from  the  loss  of  his  neighbor. 
It  is  clear  that  the  prophets  spake  even  more  harshly 
of  usury  because  it  was  forbidden  by  name  among  the 
Jews,  and  when  therefore  it  was  practiced  against  the 
express  command  of  God,  it  merited  even  heavier 
censure. 

"But  when  it  is  said,  that  as  the  cause  of  our  state 
is  the  same,  the  same  prohibition  of  usury  should  be 
retained,  I  answer  that  there  is  some  difference  in 
what  pertains  to  the  civil  state.  Because  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  place  in  which  the  Lord  placed  the 
Jews,  as  well  as  other  circumstances,  tended  to  this, 
that  it  might  be  easy  for  them  to  deal  among  them- 
selves without  usury,  while  our  state  today  is  very 
different  in  many  respects.  Therefore  usury  is  not 
wholly  forbidden  among  us  unless  it  be  repugnant 
both  to  Justice  and  to  Charity. 

"It  is  said,  'Money  does  not  beget  money.'  What 
does  the  sea  beget?  What  does  a  house  from  the  let- 
ting of  which  I  receive  a  rent?  Is  money  born  from 
roofs  and  walls?  But  on  the  other  hand  both  the 
earth  produces  and  something  is  brought  from  the 
sea  which  afterward  produces  money,  and  the  con- 
venience of  a  house  can  be  bought  and  sold  for 
money.  If  therefore  more  profit  can  be  derived  from 
trading  through  the  employment  of  money  than  from 


Calvin's  Letter  on  Usury.  77 

the  produce  of  a  farm,  the  purpose  of  which  is  subsist- 
ence, should  one  who  lets  some  barren  farm  to  a 
farmer,  receiving  in  return  a  price  or  part  of  the  pro- 
duce, be  approved,  and  one  who  loans  money  to  be 
used  for  profit  be  condemned?  And  when  one  buys 
a  farm  for  money  does  not  that  farm  produce  other 
money  yearly?  And  whence  is  derived  the  profit  of 
the  merchant?  You  will  say  from  his  diligence  and 
his  industry.  Who  doubts  thaf  idle  money  is  wholly 
useless?  Who  asks  a  loan  of  me  does  not  intend  to 
keep  what  he  receives  idle  by  him.  Therefore  the 
profit  does  not  arise  from  the  money,  but  from  the 
product  that  results  from  its  use  or  employment.  I 
therefore  conclude  that  usury  must  be  judged,  not  by 
a  particular  passage  of  Scripture,  but  simply  by  the 
rules  of  equity.  This  will  be  made  clearer  by  an 
example.  Let  us  imagine  a  rich  man  with  large  pos- 
sessions in  farms  and  rents,  but  with  little  money. 
Another  man  not  so  rich,  nor  with  such  large  pos- 
sessions as  the  first,  but  has  more  ready  money.  The 
latter  being  about  to  buy  a  farm  with  his  own  money, 
is  asked  by  the  wealthier  for  a  loan.  He  who  makes 
the  loan  may  stipulate  for  a  rent  or  interest  for  his 
money  and  further  that  the  farm  may  be  mortgaged 
to  him  until  the  principal  is  paid,  but  until  it  is  paid, 
he  will  be  content  with  the  interest  or  usury  on  the 
loan.  Why  then  shall  this  contract  with  a  mort- 
gage, but  only  for  the  profit  of  the  money,  be  con- 
demned, when  a  much  harsher,  it  may  be,  of  leasing 
or  renting  a  farm  at  large  annual  rent,  is  approved? 


78      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

"And  what  else  is  it  than  to  treat  God  like  a  child, 
when  we  judge  of  objects  by  mere  words  and  not  from 
their  nature,  as  if  virtue  can  be  distinguished  from 
vice  by  a  form  of  words. 

"It  is  not  my  intention  to  fully  examine  the  matter 
here.  I  wished  only  to  show  what  you  should  con- 
sider more  carefully.  You  should  remember  this,  that 
the  importance  of  the  question  lies  not  in  the  words 
but  in  the  thing  itself." 

Those  acquainted  with  Calvin's  "Institutes"  will  not 
fail  to  notice  the  timid  manner  in  which  he  treats  the 
subject,  as  if  uncertain  of  his  ground  and  endeavoring 
to  excuse  usury  to  please  his  friend.  This  letter  is 
wanting  in  that  positive  air  of  assured'  certainty  that 
breathes  inspired  authority  and  lends  a  charm  to  his 
"Institutes."  He  is  nearest  himself  when  he  bursts 
out,  "It  could  be  wished  that  all  usury  and  the  name 
itself  were  banished  from  the  earth." 

The  letter  is  here  given  in  full  because  often  more 
force  is  carried  by  the  reference  to  a  great  name  than 
by  the  study  of  his  argument.  A  careful  reading  of 
this  letter  does  not  reveal  a  positive  approval  of  usury. 
He  merely  excuses  it  by  suggesting  other  evils  that 
he  thinks  worse;  for  instance,  that  land  rentals  may 
be  worse  than  the  usury  of  money.  He  does  not  men- 
tion the  necessary  oppression  of  the  poor  tenants  by 
the  loan  upon  a  mortgage. 

It  is  proof  of  the  weakness  of  the  case  when  this 
letter  is  the  most  favorable  that  can  be  presented  from 
any  ecclesiastic. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
PERMANENCY  OF  THE  PROHIBITION. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  that  the  law  of  Moses  with 
regard  to  usury  was  not  intended  to  be  permanent  but 
was  only  a  wise  and  beneficent  regulation  for  that 
people  in  their  peculiar  condition;  that  as  the  cere- 
monial was  done  away  by  the  incoming  of  the  New 
Testament  dispensation,  so  this  prohibition  was  an- 
nulled and  should  be  reckoned  among  the  effete  laws 
of  the  ancient  Hebrews. 

In  answer  to  this  contention  it  may  be  replied : 

(1)  This  prohibition  is  not  ceremonial.    It  has  no 
connection  with  the  rites  and  forms  of  their  religion. 
It  touches  their  character  and  conduct  but  has  no 
place  in  their  forms  of  worship. 

(2)  Nothing  can  be  presented  from  the  Mosaic 
laws  to  prove  that  this  prohibition  was  only  of  a  tem- 
porary character.     It  is  in  entire  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  helpfulness  and  especially  the  protection  of 
the  weak,  that  is  so  characteristic  of  the  Mosaic  order. 

No  induction  from  any  of  the  Old  Testament 
writers  can  be  fairly  made  to  limit  its  application.  The 
prophets  place  usury  in  the  catalogue  of  sins  that  are 
always  and  everywhere  offensive  to  God.  Nehemiah 
condemns  it  as  destructive  to  personal  and  civic 
freedom. 

(3)  There  is  no  hint  of  its  discontinuance  in  the 

(79) 


80     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

new  dispensation.  The  Master  gave  a  spiritual  com- 
pleteness to  this  law  as  he  did  to  all  enactments  requir- 
ing external  moral  character.  He  classed  the  usurers, 
in  his  parables,  among  the  dishonest,  who  took  up 
what  they  had  not  laid  down. 

The  disciples,  in  their  poverty  and  persecutions, 
were  not  specially  tempted  by  this  sin,  and  it  is  not 
therefore  prominent  in  their  history.  But  there  is 
nothing  in  their  teachings  or  practice  that  is  not  in 
entire  harmony  with  the  binding  continuance  of  the 
Mosaic  prohibition,  and  their  practice  and  teaching 
are  just  such  as  we  should  expect  from  Christian  peo- 
ple in  their  condition  and  circumstances  who  recog- 
nized the  prohibition  as  permanent. 

(4)  The  apostolic  fathers,  as  the  church  grew  and 
came  into  contact  with  the  world  and  was  beginning 
to  share  in  the  business  of  the  world,  to  a  man, 
regarded  the  prohibition  as  in  full  force  and  its  observ- 
ance as  one  of  the  marked  characteristics  of  the 
Christian,  distinguishing  him  from  the  worldling  and 
the  Jew.  Conditions  in  the  apostolic  age  did  not 
make  this  prominent  but  when  the  conditions 
were  changed  and  the  church  came  in  conflict  with 
this  sin,  it  is  clearly  seen  that  the  law  was  in  a  con- 
tinuous binding  force  through  the  whole  period. 

The  later  fathers  were  of  the  opinion,  unanimously, 
that  it  was  in  full  force,  not  temporary  or  provincial, 
but  binding  for  all  time  and  upon  all  people.  That 
it  is  suspended  is  a  modern  idea,  a  suggestion  of  the 
world  to  the  church  within  the  last  few  hundred  years. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
OUR  CHANGED  CONDITIONS. 

The  changed  conditions  of  the  race  in  these  last 
years  are  urged  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  annulling  this 
law.  It  is  admitted  that  it  was  righteous  and  benefi- 
cent in  ages  long  past  but  with  the  new  light  and  new 
conditions  of  the  present  it  is  effete,  inapplicable  and 
unjust.  They  call  attention  to  the  vast  extension  of 
commerce,  to  the  marvelously  increased  facilities  for 
travel,  transportation  and  intercommunication ;  to  the 
innumerable  and  wonderful  inventions  that  in  their 
application  have  brightened  our  civilization.  They 
exalt  present  conditions  and  they  belittle  the  long 
past  conditions  and  thought. 

The  prohibition  of  usury  belonged  to  the  past,  the 
practice  of  usury  is  all  but  universal  in  the  present, 
therefore  they  argue  that  usury  is  a  part  and  a  neces- 
sary part  of  our  civilization  and  to  revive  the  old  pro- 
hibition would  turn  the  world's  civilization  backward 
and  be  as  absurd  as  to  now  dispense  with  steam  or 
electricity. 

In  reply  it  may  be  said  that  the  changes  are  not 
universal,  that  there  are  some  things  that  abide,  that 
the  changes  are  trifling  when  compared  with  those 
things  that  remain  and  are  permanent. 

1,     Human  nature  remains  the  same.     Man,   in 

(81) 


82      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

body  and  mind,  in  physiology  and  psychology,  has  not 
changed  in  these  thousands  of  years.  That  which  in 
ages  past  promoted  the  health  and  vigor  of  his  body, 
will  secure  its  best  development  now.  That  discipline, 
culture  and  mental  exercise  that  secured  the  highest 
intellectual  strength  in  ages  past  will  do  the  most  for 
its  best  development  now.  Many  things  that  now 
give  splendor  to  our  civilization  do  not  promote 
either  the  best  physical  or  mental  manhood. 

2.  Family  ties  remain.     The  relation  of  husband 
and  wife,  of  parents  and  children,  and  the  duties  of 
their  several  positions  in  the  home  have  not  changed. 
The  family  remains  the  social  unit  as  it  has  been  in  all 
ages.     Sociology,  the  science  of  social  and  political 
organization,  is  a  permanent  science.     It  does  not 
change  with  the  shifting  temporal  conditions  of  the 
people.     Those  things  which  made  for  the  general 
welfare  of  ages  ago  are  for  the  public  weal  now,  and 
those  things  that  endangered  the  state  then  are  to  be 
avoided  now. 

3.  The  moral  law    remains    unchanged  and  un- 
changeable, with  all  the  brilliant  present  there  is  no 
amendment  to  the  ten  commandments.     The  ethical 
nature  remains  and  the  voice  of  conscience,  approving 
the  same  right  and  condemning  the  same  wrong,  is 
identical  with  the  voice  of  conscience  in  the  time  of 
Moses. 

4.  The  laws  of  nature  have  not  changed.     The 


Our  Changed  Conditions.  83 

relation  between  a  cause  and  its  sequence  remains. 
Like  causes  produce  like  effects. 

No  living  thing  has  changed  its  nature.  A  lion 
now  is  of  the  same  nature  that  it  was  in  the  time  of 
Samson.  So  with  every  savage  beast  that  roams  the 
jungle.  Even  the  domesticated  animals,  with  all  the 
effort  and  skill  of  intelligent  man,  have  only  been 
smoothed  or  speeded  a  little.  The  horse,  cow,  sheep, 
or  dog  have  held  their  old  forms  and  dispositions. 

Seed  time  and  harvest  come  and  go  and  we  are 
dependent  for  the  same  shower  and  sunshine  that 
gave  Adam  his  first  harvest. 

We  know  some  things  they  did  not  know  and  we 
have  bettered  our  tools,  but  the  natural  world  has 
shown  no  signs  of  change. 

5.  The  relation  of  things  to  each  other  have  not 
changed.    Plants  must  have  soil  to  grow  in,  animals 
must  have  vegetation  to  feed  upon.    Fish  must  have 
water.     And   so   with  the   thousands  of  relations  of 
climate,  elements,  soils,  plants,  animals,  fishes,  birds 
and  insects,  they  are  the  identical  relations  sustained 
ages  and  ages  ago. 

6.  The  nature  of  money  has  not  changed.     Its 
material  and  form  and  denominations  have  been  modi- 
fied but  the  functions  of  money  as  a  storage  of  values 
and  as  a  measure  of  values  and  as  a  medium  of  ex- 
change remain  the  same.     Our  gold  and  silver  and 
paper   money   may  be  more   convenient   and   more 


84      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

exact,  but  its  functions  are  just  the  same  as  the  In- 
dians' wampum. 

The  law  of  supply  and  demand  and  the  equity  in 
commercial  transactions,  great  or  small,  are  un- 
changed. Money  could  always  be  used  to  make  or 
gather  more  money  in  business.  It  is  no  more  true 
now  than  in  the  times  of  David  or  Nehemiah.  If  this 
had  not  then  been  possible;  if  there  had  not  been 
tempting  opportunities,  there  would  have  been  no  sin 
of  usury  for  them  to  reprove. 

Man's  changed  conditions  are  but  trifling  and 
incidental,  relating  to  himself.  They  do  not  affect  a 
single  natural  or  moral  or  economic  law. 

The  changed  conditions,  which  are  urged  as  a  rea- 
son that  the  prohibition  of  usury  is  no  longer  binding, 
are  only  the  conditions  brought  about  by  the  violation 
of  that  law. 

The  prohibition  of  usury  is  systematically  violated. 
The  neighbor  in  the  smallest  transaction  with  his 
neighbor  exacts  usury,  though  it  be  but  a  few  cents. 
The  credit  system  has  become  universal.  It  is  the 
rare  exception  now  to  "own  what  you  have"  and  to 
"pay  as  you  go."  Interest  bearing  bonds  are  issued 
by  the  smallest  manufacturing  plant,  by  the  great  cor- 
poration and  by  the  empire.  These  conditions  do  not 
prove  usury  right.  They  only  show  how  far  true 
business,  commercial,  and  political  principles  have 
been  perverted  by  this  practice. 

Jf  violating  a  law  annuls  it,  then  any  law  can  be 


Our  Changed  Conditions.  85 

pushed  aside.  Let  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath  day  be 
ignored.  Let  the  houses  of  worship  remain  closed 
upon  that  day.  Let  work  be  planned  for  seven  days 
of  the  week.  Let  the  hum  of  the  mills  and  the  roar 
of  commerce  go  on.  Take  no  note  of  the  Sabbath 
day,  either  in  business  or  recreation  or  worship,  and 
conditions  will  soon  be  upon  us,  such  that  we  may 
urge  as  plausibly,  that  the  Sabbath  is  effete,  possible 
to  our  slow  going  fathers  but  inconsistent  with  the 
necessary  rush  of  our  day. 

If  the  systematic  violation  of  a  law  annuls  it  then 
we  can  quiet  the  conscience  and  be  dishonest  while 
dealing  with  a  Turk  in  Constantinople  and  we  may  lie 
while  dickering  with  a  Chinese  merchant  in  Canton. 

If  violating  a  law  annuls  it,  even  the  seventh  com- 
mandment, the  violation  of  which  is  so  offensive  to 
decency  and  its  observance  so  necessary  to  the  purity 
of  the  home,  may  in  this  way  be  ruled  out  as  a  binding 
obligation.  Let  polygamy  be  the  order,  supported  by 
the  example  of  Jacob  and  David  and  Solomon,  and 
the  families  be  constituted  along  that  line,  then  en- 
forced monogamy  would  seem  to  be  a  sundering  of 
tender  ties  and  hardness  toward  the  cast  off  Hagars 
that  is  inconsistent  with  the  Christian  spirit.  An 
earnest,  Godly  man,  a  missionary  friend  of  the  writer, 
under  whose  ministry  a  heathen  chief  was  converted, 
was  misled  by  the  plausibility.  The  chief  had  a  num- 
ber of  wives;  he  had  children  by  them;  he  was  much 


86      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

attached  to  his  wives  and  was  fond  of  his  children,  and 
they  all  seemed  to  love  him  and  clung  to  him.  The 
missionary  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart  did  not  inter- 
fere with  the  family,  permitting  the  chief  to  keep  his 
wives  and  placed  his  name  on  the  church  roll  of  the 
Mission.  For  this  act  he  was  reproved  by  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities  above  him.  Let  polygamy  become 
as  universal  as  usury  and  even  the  seventh  command- 
ment in  its  strictness  will  seem  impracticable  and 
unkind  if  not  positively  cruel. 

It  will  not  do  to  claim  freedom  from  the  prohibition 
of  usury  because  we  have  organized  commerce  and 
the  state  and  all  society  in  violation  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
AMERICAN  REVISION. 

The  Revision  by  the  American  Committee  is  the 
latest  effort  of  scholarship  to  bring  King  James' 
Version  up  to  date  by  eliminating  effete  terms  and 
using  words  in  their  modern  sense. 

The  references  to  usury  are  here  collated  so  as  to 
give  a  general  view  of  the  question  from  the  transla- 
tions of  the  passages  in  this  the  latest  Revision.  The 
reader  will  notice  that  the  modern  word  "interest"  is 
substituted  for  "usury"  in  nearly  every  passage. 

Exodus  22 :  25 :  "If  thou  lend  money  to  any  of  my 
people  with  thee  that  is  poor,  thou  shalt  not  be  to  him 
as  a  creditor;  neither  shall  ye  lay  upon  him  interest." 

Leviticus  25 :  35-37 :  "And  if  thy  brother  be  waxen 
poor,  and  his  hand  fail  with  thee,  then  thou  shalt 
uphold  him:  as  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner  shall  he 
live  with  thee.  Take  thou  no  interest  of  him  or  in- 
crease, but  fear  thy  God;  that  thy  brother  may  live 
with  thee.  Thou  shalt  not  give  him  thy  money  upon 
interest,  nor  give  him  thy  victuals  for  increase." 

Deuteronomy  23 :  19,  20 :  "Thou  shalt  not  lend 
upon  interest  to  thy  brother:  interest  of  money,  in- 
terest of  victuals,  interest  of  anything  that  is  lent  upon 
interest:  unto  a  foreigner  thou  mayest  lend  upon 
interest,  but  unto  thy  brother  thou  shalt  not  lend 

(87) 


88      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

upon  interest,  that  Jehovah  thy  God  may  bless  thee 
in  all  that  thou  puttest  thy  hand  unto,  in  the  land 
whither  thou  goest  in  to  possess  it." 

Nehemiah  5 :  7-10 :  "Then  I  consulted  with  myself, 
and  contended  with  the  nobles  and  rulers  and  said 
unto  them,  Ye  exact  usury,  every  one  of  his  brother. 
And  I  held  a  great  assembly  against  them.  And  1 
said  unto  them,  We  after  our  ability  have  redeemed 
our  brethren  the  Jews  that  were  sold  unto  the  nations  ; 
and  would  ye  even  sell  your  brethren,  and  should  they 
be  sold  unto  us?  Then  held  they  their  peace  and 
found  never  a  word.  Also  I  said,  The  thing  ye  do  is 
not  good :  ought  ye  not  to  walk  in  the  fear  of  our  God, 
because  of  the  reproach  of  the  nations,  our  enemies? 
And  I  likewise,  my  brethren  and  my  servants,  do  lend 
them  money  and  grain.  I  pray  you,  let  us  leave  off 
this  usury." 

The  interest  exacted  by  the  princes  and  nobles  was 
no  doubt  so  extortionate  that  it  could  be  called  usury 
in  the  modern  legal  sense. 

Psalm  15 : 

"Jehovah,  Who  shall  sojourn  in  thy  tabernacles? 
Who  shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill? 
He  that  walketh  uprightly  and  worketh  righteousness, 
And  speaketh  the  truth  in  his  heart; 
He  that  slandereth  not  with  his  tongue, 
Nor  doeth  evil  to  his  friend, 
Nor  taketh  up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbor; 
In  whose  eyes  a  reprobate  is  despised, 
But  who  honoreth  them  that  fear  Jehovah; 
He  that  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt  and  changeth  not; 
He  that  putteth  not  out  his  money  to  interest, 
Nor  taketh  reward  against  the  innocent. 
He  that  doeth  these  things  shall  never  be  moved." 


American  Revision.  89 

Proverbs  28:  8:  "He  that  augmenteth  his  sub- 
stance by  interest  and  increase,  gathereth  it  for  him 
that  hath  pity  on  the  poor." 

Jeremiah  15:  10:  "I  have  not  lent,  neither  have 
men  lent  to  me ;  yet  every  one  of  them  doth  curse  me." 

King  James  reads :  "I  have  neither  lent  upon  usury, 
nor  have  men  lent  to  me  upon  usury."  As  Jeremiah 
was  protesting  his  innocence  of  any  wrongdoing  the 
early  translators  inserted  what  was  evidently  implied 
while  these  latest  revisors  have  omitted  what  was  not 
in  the  original  text. 

Ezekiel  18:  1-18:  "The  word  of  Jehovah  came 
again  unto  me  saying,  What  mean  ye  that  ye  use  this 
proverb,  concerning  the  land  of  Israel,  saying,  The 
fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the  children's  teeth 
are  set  on  edge?  As  I  live  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah,  ye 
shall  not  have  occasion  any  more  to  use  this  proverb 
in  Israel.  Behold,  all  souls  are  mine,  as  the  soul  of 
the  father  so  also  the  soul  of  the  son  is  mine :  the  soul 
that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.  But  if  a  man  be  just  and  do 
that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  and  hath  not  eaten 
upon  the  mountains,  neither  hath  lifted  up  his  eyes  to 
the  idols  of  the  house  of  Israel,  neither  hath  defiled  his 
neighbor's  wife,  neither  hath  come  near  to  a  woman  in 
her  impurity,  and  hath  not  wronged  any,  but  hath  re- 
stored to  the  debtor  his  pledge,  hath  taken  naught  by 
robbery,  hath  given  his  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  hath 
covered  the  naked  with  a  garment :  he  hath  not  given 
forth  upon  interest,  neither  hath  taken  any  increase, 


90      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

that  hath  withdrawn  his  hand  from  iniquity,  hath 
executed  true  justice  between  man  and  man,  hath 
walked  in  my  statutes  and  hath  kept  my  ordinances, 
to  deal  truly :  he  is  just,  he  shall  surely  live,  saith  the 
Lord  Jehovah. 

"If  he  beget  a  son  that  is  a  robber,  a  shedder  of 
blood,  and  that  doeth  any  one  of  these  things,  and 
that  doeth  not  any  of  those  duties,  but  even  hath 
eaten  upon  the  mountains,  and  denied  his  neighbor's 
wife,  hath  wronged  the  poor  and  needy,  hath  taken  by 
robbery,  hath  not  restored  the  pledge,  and  hath  lifted 
up  his  eyes  to  the  idols,  hath  committed  abomination, 
hath  given  forth  upon  interest,  and  hath  taken  in- 
crease ;  shall  he  then  live  ?  He  shall  not  live :  he  hath 
done  all  these  abominations:-  he  shall  surely  die;  his 
blood  shall  be  upon  him. 

"Now,  lo,  if  he  beget  a  son  which  seeth  all  his 
father's  sins  which  he  hath  done,  and  feareth  and 
doeth  not  such  like;  that  hath  not  eaten  upon  the 
mountains,  neither  hath  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  idols 
of  the  house  of  Israel,  hath  not  denied  his  neighbor's 
wife,  neither  hath  wronged  any,  hath  not  taken  aught 
to  pledge,  neither  hath  taken  by  robbery,  but  hath 
given  his  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  hath  covered  the 
naked  with  a  garment;  that  hath  not  withdrawn  his 
hand  from  the  poor,  that  hath  not  received  interest 
nor  increase,  hath  executed  my  ordinances,  hath 
walked  in  my  statutes;  he  shall  not  die  for  the  iniquity 
of  his  father,  he  shall  surely  live.  As  for  his  father, 


American  Revision.  91 

because  he  cruelly  oppressed,  robbed  his  brother,  and 
did  that  which  is  not  good  among  his  people,  behold, 
he  shall  die  in  his  iniquity." 

Ezekiel  22 :  6-12 :  "Behold,  the  princes  of  Israel, 
every  one  according  to  his  power  have  been  in  thee  to 
shed  blood.  -In  thee  have  they  set  light  by  father  and 
mother;  in  the  midst  of  thee  have  they  dealt  by 
oppression  with  the  sojourner;  in  thee  have  they 
wronged  the  fatherless  and  the  widow.  Thou  hast 
despised  mine  holy  things  and  hast  profaned  my  sab- 
baths. Slanderous  men  have  been  in  thee  to  shed 
blood;  and  in  thee  have  they  eaten  upon  the  moun- 
tains ;  in  the  midst  of  thee  they  have  committed  lewd- 
ness.  In  thee  have  they  uncovered  their  fathers' 
nakedness;  in  thee  have  they  humbled  her  that  was 
unclean  in  her  impurity.  And  one  hath  committed 
abomination  with  his  neighbor's  wife;  and  another 
hath  lewdly  defiled  his  daughter-in-law;  and  another 
in  thee  hath  humbled  his  sister,  his  father's  daughter. 
In  thee  have  they  taken  bribes  to  shed  blood;  thou 
hast  taken  interest  and  increase,  and  thou  hast 
greedily  gained  of  thy  neighbors  by  oppression  and 
hast  forgotten  me  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah." 

Matthew  25:26-27:  "But  his  lord  answered  and 
said  unto  him,  Thou  wicked  and  slothful  servant,  thou 
knewest  that  I  reap  where  I  sowed  not  and  gather 
where  I  did  not  scatter;  thou  oughtest  therefore  to 
have  put  my  money  to  the  bankers,  and  at  my  coming 
I  should  have  received  back  mine  own  with  interest." 


92      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Luke  19 :  22,  23 :  "He  saith  unto  him,  Out  of  thine 
own  mouth  will  I  judge  thee,  thou  wicked  servant. 
Thou  knewest  that  I  am  an  austere  man  taking  up 
that  I  laid  not  down  and  reaping  that  I  did  not  sow; 
then  wherefore  gavest  thou  not  my  money  into  the 
bank,  and  I  at  my  coming  should  have  required  it 
with  usury." 

Luke  16 :  13-15 :  "No  servant  can  serve  two  mas- 
ters: for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the 
other;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  the  one  and  despise  the 
other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.  And  the 
Pharisees  who  were  lovers  of  money  heard  all  these 
things  and  they  scoffed  at  him.  And  he  said  unto 
them,  Ye  are  they  that  justify  yourselves  in  the  sight 
of  men  but  God  knoweth  your  hearts :  for  that  which 
is  exalted  among  men  is  an  abomination  in  the  sight 
of  God." 

It  is  not  easy  to  understand  how  an  honest,  godly 
man,  who  has  even  medium  intelligence,  unclouded 
by  prejudice,  and  who  has  confidence  in  the  highest 
scholarship  of  the  age,  can  deny  that  the  revealed 
Word  of  God,  in  both  Testaments,  condemns  usury 
or  interest.  It  is  just  as  difficult  to  explain  how  any 
one,  not  glaringly  inconsistent,  can  claim  that  interest 
taking  is  not  a  sin,  who  bows  to  the  divine  authority 
of  the  revealed  Word  and  who  defines  sin  as  "Any 
want  of  conformity  unto  or  transgression  of  the  law 
of  God." 


CHAPTER  XV. 
DUTY  LEARNED  FROM  TWO  SOURCES. 

In  this  discussion  we  learn  our  duty  from  two 
sources.  Two  authorities  are  recognized.  One  is  the 
revelation  of  God  in  his  written  Word.  The  other  is 
the  book  of  nature;  this  includes  the  ethical  nature  of 
man,  his  social  relations,  and  the  laws  that  govern 
material  things. 

The  author  of  the  Bible  is  the  God  of  nature.  They 
are  but  two  volumes  from  the  same  mind  and  hand. 
They  must  speak  in  harmony  when  both  are  under- 
stood. Truth  found  in  the  inspired  Word  cannot  be 
contradicted  in  nature;  and  no  facts  in  the  works  of 
God  can  be  found  in  conflict  with  the  Word  He  has 
spoken.  A  truth  found  in  either  is  always  consistent 
with  the  truths  made  plain  in  the  other. 

Familiarity  with  one  prepares  us  to  better  under- 
stand the  other.  The  devout  student  of  the  Word 
has  his  mind  aroused,  and  his  susceptibility  so  quick- 
ened that  he  is  able  to  read  more  clearly  the  lessons 
in  the  volumes  of  nature  open  before  him.  The  stu- 
dent of  nature,  who  has  searched  its  mysteries  and 
taken  in  its  beauty  and  designs  of  infinite  wisdom 
everywhere  appearing,  must  be  the  more  ready  and 
competent  to  appreciate  the  revealed  love  and  grace. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  treatise  on  natural  science,  nor 

(93) 


94      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

does  natural  science  teach  revealed  religion,  yet  they 
do  not  conflict.  The  special  student  of  either  may 
have  perfect  confidence  that  whatever  he  has  found 
true  in  his  chosen  field  will  be  found  consistent  with 
truth  in  other  fields  of  special  study. 

Chemistry,  biology  and  all  studies  of  nature,  are 
found  only  to  give  a  higher  conception  of  the  God  of 
all  grace.  The  same  wisdom  and  power  shine  out  in 
His  works  that  are  revealed  in  His  Word. 

Again,  the  laws  of  God,  whether  fixed  in  nature  or 
revealed  in  His  Word,  are  for  the  highest  interest  of 
the  physical,  mental  and  spiritual  man.  Every  truth 
in  the  Word  works  for  the  welfare  of  man's  body  and 
soul.  The  laws  of  nature,  physical  and  psychological, 
obeyed,  promote  man's  bodily  and  mental  vigor. 
Strict  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God,  as  revealed  in 
both  Word  and  nature,  produces  the  completest 
physical  and  mental  manhood. 

God  had  the  highest  welfare  of  every  man  at  heart 
when  He  prepared  the  earth  for  his  abode  and  gave 
him  dominion  over  it.  And  He  yearned  for  his  de- 
liverance from  a  fallen  estate  when  He  gave  him  a 
revelation  of  His  infinite  redeeming  love.  The  eye 
of  God  is  upon  each  individual  of  the  race,  as  upon 
every  sparrow.  He  has  in  thought,  in  word  and  in 
works,  not  the  favoring  of  one  of  an  hundred,  while 
the  ninety  and  nine  are  crushed  or  neglected,  but  the 
happiness  and  highest  good  of  every  one  of  the  hun- 
dred. 


Duty  Learned  from  Two  Sources.  95 

The  ethics  of  the  Bible  and  the  ethics  of  nature,  as 
wrought  out  by  the  earnest  heathen  philosophers, 
mainly  agree.  It  is  an  astonishment  to  some  that 
there  is  so  much  agreement  in  the  systems  of  heathen 
morals  and  the  revealed  moral  law.  The  moral  law 
is  written  on  men's  hearts,  and  can  be  read  there  by 
the  diligent  and  careful  student;  but  the  consciences 
of  men,  enlightened  and  quickened  by  the  revealed 
Word,  produce  the  highest  ethical  types  the  world 
knows. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  work  on  political  economy,  yet 
there  is  nothing  out  of  harmony  with  the  most  perfect 
political  institutions.  When  we  find  political  prin- 
ciples clearly  revealed,  we  shall  find  the  same  truths 
when  we  study  the  most  orderly  relations  of  men  in 
their  social  organization. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  work  on  economics,  yet  it  ad- 
vances no  economic  principles  that  work  a  hardness  or 
injustice  to  any.  When  we  find  economic  principles 
clearly  stated,  we  shall  surely  find  the  same  truths 
confirmed  in  a  careful  study  of  the  nature  of  things. 

As  the  written  Word  forbids  usury  or  interest,  it 
can  be  presumed  that  the  nature  of  things  and  man's 
highest  good  also  forbids  it ;  that  it  is  not  an  arbitrary 
prohibition,  but  is  given  in  love  because  it  is  in  its 
very  nature  a  ruinous  evil.  As  we  find  a  positive  pro- 
hibition of  taking  usury  or  interest  in  the  old  dispen- 
sation and  the  confirmation  of  it  in  the  new,  both  by 


96      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

the  words  of  the  Master  and  the  understanding  and 
practice  of  the  disciples  and  fathers,  we  may  confi- 
dently expect  that  it  will  be  confirmed  by  a  correct 
and  careful  study  of  ethics  and  of  the  relation  of  man 
to  things. 

We  may  learn  duty  from  either  or  both  sources.  To 
some  men  the  Bible  comes  with  the  greatest  clearness 
and  the  utmost  force  of  authority.  Others  find  in 
nature  their  highest  conception  of  the  Infinite,  and 
their  best  directions  for  a  correct  life.  If  usury  or 
interest  is  found  to  be  a  sin  from  the  Word,  there  is 
no  need  for  those  to  enter  into  the  economic  proof 
who  have  no  taste  for  this  character  of  study  or  rea- 
soning. If  it  is  found  to  be  "malum  per  se"  from  the 
nature  of  things,  even  those  who  reject  the  divine 
revelation  must  array  themselves  against  it.  If  it  is 
shown  to  be  evil  by  both  revelation  and  economic  law, 
then  all  peoples,  Christian  and  heathen,  should  com- 
bine against  it. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
RIGHTS  OF  MAN  OVER  THINGS. 

Man  was  the  last  and  the  crowning"  work  of  the 
Creator.  God  made  man  in  his  own  image  and  gave 
him  dominion  over  all  creatures. 

"For  thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels,  and  hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor. 

"Thou  madest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the 
works  of  thy  hands;  thou  hast  put  all  things  under 
his  feet : 

"All  the  sheep  and  oxen,  yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the 
field; 

"The  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
whatsoever  passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  seas." 

This  high  position  is  in  entire  harmony  with  man's 
innate  consciousness  of  his  superior  powers,  and  of 
his  nobler  spiritual  nature,  and  of  his  rightful  domin- 
ion over  all  the  other  material  creations.  Man  is  a 
person,  a  thinking  intelligent  being,  and  is  conscious 
of  his  personality,  and  from  his  lofty  height  he  calls 
all  else  the  lower  and  the  inferior  creatures.  Wher- 
ever man  is  found  over  the  whole  earth,  of  whatever 
faith  or  grade  of  civilization,  he  claims  this  universal 
dominion. 

Man  was  commanded  to  subdue  the  earth   and 

bring  it  into  subjection  as  his  servant  and  he  is  con- 

97 


98      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

scious  of  his  right  to  use  all  things  to  promote  his 
comfort,  convenience  and  welfare.  Anything  he  can 
make  of  service  to  himself  he  has  a  right  to  appro- 
priate. 

A  tree  is  a  thing  which  he  may  prepare  for  his 
own  purposes,  for  fuel,  for  tools,  or  for  a  dwelling,  as 
he  pleases. 

Isaiah  ridiculed  the  idolater  in  his  time,  who  made 
an  idol  of  wood  and  worshiped  it,  while  with  another 
part  of  the  same  tree  he  built  a  fire  and  warmed  him- 
self. A  part  he  served  and  a  part  served  him.  The 
whole  tree  was  subject  to  him;  in  itself  it  had  no 
rights. 

Rights  belong  to  persons,  and  not  to  things,  and 
personality  cannot  be  transferred  to  a  thing.  If  there 
is  no  personal  owner  the  question  of  rights  is  never 
raised.  The  tree,  or  any  thing  whatever,  has  no 
rights  in  the  matter.  Rights  belong  to  the  owner, 
the  person,  not  to  the  thing  he  owns. 

The  game  in  the  mountain  forests  and  the  fish  in 
the  rivers  are  things  with  no  owner  and  whosoever 
will  may  take  and  use  them. 

Land  is  a  thing,  and  any  person  may  make  it  into  a 
farm  or  garden  and  build  upon  it  his  home.  The  land 
has  no  rights  and  makes  no  protest.  The  whole 
earth  is  subject  to  man  and  is  to  be  subdued  by  him. 
If  no  owner  appears  his  rights  are  not  disputed.  Our 
fathers  found  an  unowned  continent,  with  all  its  rich 
resources  of  soil  and  forests  and  mines.  It  was  to 


Rights  of  Man  Over  Things.  99 

them  free,  and  with  the  labor  of  a  few  generations 
they  transformed  it  into  farms  and  plantations  and 
built  it  over  with  magnificent  cities. 

Even  that  which  formerly  was  the  property  of 
another  has  no  rights.  The  deserted  hunter's  hut  in 
the  mountains  can  be  appropriated.  The  abandoned 
farm  does  not  resist  a  new  tenant.  A  derelict  vessel, 
still  afloat  but  driven  before  the  winds,  whose  officers, 
crew  and  owners  are  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  can  be 
appropriated,  for  there  is  no  one  to  dispute  the  claim. 

Even  force  or  labor  in  the  abstract  is  but  a  thing 
and  has  no  rights.  The  wind  is  unowned  and  any  one 
who  will  may  harness  it  to  do  his  work.  The  electric 
forces  of  nature  are  unowned,  whoever  will  may 
gather  and  direct  them  to  do  his  purpose.  The  water- 
fall may  be  made  to  do  man's  work  and  will  not  resist. 
The  animals  have  no  rights  against  man.  The 
broncho,  horse,  ox,  mule,  or  animal  of  any  kind,  may 
be  turned  to  man's  service.  All  the  forces  of  nature 
were  made  for  man.  They  have  no  rights  to  be 
regarded,  when  his  interests  can  be  served. 

It  is  man's  high  privilege  to  stand  above  all  things, 
to  call  them  to  his  feet  and  to  compel  their  service. 
It  is  the  reversion  of  the  order  for  him  to  take  the 
subordinate  place  and  serve  the  inferior  creation. 
Things  subdued,  such  as  wealth  secured,  is  to  minister 
to  his  highest  good  and  to  promote  his  noblest  man- 
hood. The  order  is  reversed  when  this  wealth  com- 
mands his  service  and  sacrifice.  The;  miser  both 


100     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

reverses  the  divine  order  and  violates  common  sense 
by  giving  the  love  and  service  of  his  shriveling  soul 
to  a  thing. 

The  usurer  and  the  borrower  on  usury,  both, 
reverse  the  true  order  by  assuming  that  a  thing  can 
claim  man's  service.  Both  grant  that  a  thing  has 
rights  to  be  respected.  The  usurer  takes  the  service 
as  due  to  the  thing  he  owns.  It  is  his  property  that  is 
exalted,  and  for  which  he  claims  the  service  must  be 
rendered,  and  if  the  borrower  will  think  closely,  he 
will  find  that  in  paying  usury  he  is  serving  a  thing. 

A  man  reverses  the  divine  order  and  degrades  him- 
self, and  becomes  a  gross  idolater,  when  he  serves 
things  unowned  instead  of  commanding  their  service, 
"stocks  and  stones."  He  reverses  the  true  order  when 
he  becomes  a  miser  and  serves  that  which  is  his  own, 
"which  his  own  fingers  have  made,"  instead  of  com- 
pelling it  to  serve  him.  He  is  not  less  degraded  when 
he  exalts  over  himself  a  thing  owned  by  another  and 
serves  it.  The  ownership  of  another  does  not  change 
the  nature  of  the  thing.  One  can  serve  his  neighbor's 
idol  as  truly  as  he  can  his  own. 

There  is  nothing  above  man  but  God.  His  fellow 
man  is  by  his  side,  his  equal,  and  all  other  material 
creations  are  beneath  his  feet,  and  he  is  not  to  permit 
his  fellow  man  to  lift  up  the  inferior  thing  and  place 
it  above  him.  If  he  does  he  must  step  down  from  the 
pinnacle  on  which  he  was  placed  by  his  God  and 
which  his  own  consciousness  demands  he  shall  occupy. 


Rights  of  Man  Over  Things.  101 

"Shall  the  ax  boast  itself  against  him  that  heweth 
therewith?  or  shall  the  saw  magnify  itself  against  him 
that  shaketh  it?  as  if  the  rod  should  shake  itself 
against  them  that  lift  it  up,  or  as  if  the  staff  should 
lift  up  itself,  as  if  it  were  no  wood."  Isaiah  10 : 15. 

If  he  serves  the  borrowed  ax  and  saw  for  the  claim 
that  the  ax  and  saw  have  against  him,  he  admits  his 
debt  to  things  and  Isaiah's  ridicule  of  an  idolater  can 
be  turned  against  him  and  he  steps  down  from  the 
position  of  conscious  inborn  dignified  lordship  and  be- 
comes a  servant  of  the  inferior  things. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
EQUAL   RIGHTS   OF  MEN. 

All  men  have  sacred  rights  that  must  be  regarded. 
That  these  rights  are  equal  is  so  familiar  and  stale  an 
expression  that  it  hardly  need  be  spoken.  "All  men 
are  created  equal,"  each  having  rights,  that  are  in- 
alienable, and  each  having  the  right  to  resist  the  en- 
croachment on  his  rights  by  another.  To  protect 
these  rights  governments  are  instituted. 

The  vital  energy  of  a  man  is  his  own  and  his  right 
to  it  must  be  regarded.  Since  the  abolition  of  chattel 
slavery  this  has  been  indefeasible  except  for  crime. 

He  has  a  right  to  his  own  vital  energy  and  to  all 
that  his  own  vital  force  produces.  He  has  a  right  to 
his  property  inherited,  earned,  or  however  secured, 
except  by  fraud.  He  has  no  claim  against  the  vital 
energy  of  his  fellow  man,  nor  has  he  any  claim  what- 
ever against  the  property  of  another. 

The  working  man  needs  capital.  His  vital  energy 
must  waste  unless  there  is  material  upon  which  it 
may  be  expended.  There  must  be  the  tree,  land  or 
material  in  some  form,  upon  which  he  can  work.  But 
give  him  the  world  raw  and  unsubdued  and  he  can 
transform  it  again  as  he  has.  He  can  build  again 
everything  on  land  and  sea,  the  farms,  towns,  and 
cities,  and  the  floating  palaces.  He  can  again  dig 

102 


Equal  Rights  of  Men.  103 

out  the  mines  and  refine  the  silver  and  gold,  mould  the 
clay,  smelt  the  ore  and  shape  the  iron.  His  needs 
and  his  power,  however,  give  him  no  claim  to  the 
property  of  another. 

The  man  of  property  is  dependent  upon  the  laborer. 
He  may  be  the  owner  of  farms,  forests  and  mines, 
of  horses,  flocks  and  herds,  of  railroads  and  oil  wells, 
yet  these  will  not  minister  to  him  nor  serve  him  with- 
out the  laborer.  His  coffers  may  be  filled  with  gold, 
and  his  barns  bursting  with  grain  and  his  stalls  filled 
with  fatlings,  yet  all  this  wealth  is  useless  and  lost, 
unless  touched  with  the  vital  energy  of  an  intelligent 
laborer.  But  his  dependence  and  losses  give  him  no 
right  to  the  labor  of  another. 

He  has  no  right,  no  just  claim,  to  the  services  of 
another  man,  his  equal.  All  his  wealth  cannot  confer 
the  right.  Wealth  is  but  a  thing,  in  itself  without 
rights,  and  can  therefore  add  nothing  to  the  rights 
of  its  owner. 

He  may  however  use  his  wealth  to  command  ser- 
vice by  might,  but  not  by  right.  A  club  is  but  a  thing 
having  no  will  and  no  rights,  yet  in  the  hands  of  a 
savage  it  adds  greatly  to  his  power  and  may  be  used 
by  him  to  oppress  another  of  his  tribe.  A  ruffian 
with  his  gun  meeting  a  defenseless  man  may  so  com- 
mand him,  that  he  is  ready  for  the  most  abject  obedi- 
ence. An  armed  highwayman  may  compel  a  brave 
man  "to  stand  and  deliver."  So  a  man  may  use  his 


104      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

property  to  secure  the  service  of  another  but  it  gives 
him  no  right  to  that  service. 

The  usurer,  who  has  himself  no  rights  against  his 
fellows,  uses  a  thing,  his  property,  as  an  instrument  or 
weapon  to  command  service. 

He  may  place  his  hand  upon  every  material  thing 
another  must  have,  and  withhold  it,  and  the  other  is 
shut  up  and  compelled,  he  has  no  alternative.  He 
must  yield  to  the  demands  or  suffer.  Many  men  are 
driven  to  the  last  extremity  before  they  will  borrow. 

But  if  the  borrower  is  very  willing  and  urgent  for 
the  loan,  this  does  not  change  the  nature  of  the  act. 
The  game  may  be  shot  upon  the  wring  as  it  is  en- 
deavoring to  escape,  or  it  may  be  snared  in  a  trap 
by  a  tempting  bait.  The  wild  broncho  may  be  cap- 
tured in  chase,  or  beguiled  into  the  corral. 

The  voluntary  sacrifice  of  others  to  the  usurer 
does  not  make  his  gains  just.  The  foolish  ones  are 
now  willing  to  invest  in  lottery  tickets,  yet  that  does 
not  make  the  lottery  lawful.  Slot  machines  are  being 
put  out  of  the  cities,  because  so  many  are  ready  to 
part  with  their  nickels.  If  there  were  none  ensnared 
by  them,  they  could  stand  harmless. 

The  borrower  may  be  greatly  elated  with  the  hope 
of  gain,  but  the  injustice  is  the  same,  whether  the 
services  be  secured  by  compelling  force,  or  by  guile, 
or  by  the  folly  of  the  victim. 

If  we  admit  the  supremacy  of  man  over  the  material 
creation,  all  subordinate  to  him,  and  no  right  to  be, 


Equal  Rights  of  Men.  105 

except  to  serve  him,  and  also  admit  the  equal  rights 
of  all  men,  there  is  no  escape  from  the  conclusion 
that  the  usurer  can  have  no  rightful  claims  to  any  por- 
tion of  the  labor  of  the  borrower,  without  surrender- 
ing to  him  some  portion  of  his  property  as  compen- 
sation for  the  services  received.  He  must  have  less 
property  when  the  service  is  rendered  and  the  bor- 
rower must  have  more  property  if  the  rights  of  both 
are  regarded. 

A  false  impression  prevails,  that  the  lender  in  some 
way  gives  the  loan  to  the  borrower;  that  the  bor- 
rower becomes  somewhat  the  owner  of  the  property. 
The  borrower  is  encouraged  in  this  illusion  and  it 
becomes  a  plausible  basis  for  the  claim  upon  his  ser- 
vices. 

When  a  loan  is  made  to  a  bank  it  is  called  a 
"deposit"  and  rightly,  for  it  is  only  placed  in  the 
banker's  hands  and  does  not  in  any  part  become  his. 
This  is  true  of  any  amount,  great  or  small,  whether 
the  deposit  draws  interest  or  not.  The  lender  never 
loses  his  sense  of  ownership  of  the  whole  amount,  nor 
does  the  banker  encourage  the  fiction  that  he  has 
become  part  owner. 

Every  loan  is  but  a  "deposit."  The  ownership  of 
no  part  passes  to  the  borrower.  It  is  seldom  that 
the  loan  or  "deposit"  is  not  safer  in  the  keeping  of 
the  borrower  than  in  the  hands  of  the  owner  himself, 
when  secured  by  mortgages  or  personal  sureties. 
The  usurer  gains  the  earnings  of  the  borrower  but 


106     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

parts  with  no  property.  He  receives  the  service  but 
gives  nothing. 

Two  usurers,  A  and  B,  are  neighbors.  A  has  a 
garden  he  wishes  dug.  He  has  an  ax  but  no  hoe. 
B  has  wood  that  he  wishes  cut.  He  has  a  hoe  but  no 
ax.  The  laborer  appears  and  wishes  to  do  their  work. 
Usurer  A  agrees  to  lend  him  his  ax  to  cut  B's  wood 
on  the  condition  that  he  shall  return  it  unimpaired 
and  work  his  garden  for  its  use. 

He  cuts  the  wood,  but  has  no  hoe  to  dig  A's  garden 
for  the  use  of  the  ax.  Usurer  B  now  lends  the  laborer 
his  hoe  to  dig  the  garden,  but  takes  the  cutting  of 
the  wood  for  the  use  of  the  hoe.  The  confused  bor- 
rower knows  he  is  defrauded  of  his  work,  though  each 
seems  to  have  a  plausible  claim  upon  him. 

A  does  not  give  the  hoe  to  the  laborer.  He  retains 
the  full  ownership  but  deposits  it  in  the  workman's 
hands  to  be  returned  unimpaired.  B  does  not  give 
away  his  ax,  he  only  places  it  in  the  laborer's  hands 
also  to  be  returned  unimpaired.  The  full  hoe  and 
full  ax  is  returned  and  they  have  taken  the  services 
without  compensation. 

The  result  is  just  the  same  as  if  A  and  B  had  traded 
tools  and  A  had  given  the  laborer  a  hoe  to  dig  the 
garden,  "the  tool  and  the  material  with  which  to 
work,"  and  B  had  given  him  an  ax  to  cut  his  wood, 
"the  tool  and  the  material  with  which  to  work,"  with- 
out a  pretence  of  a  payment  for  his  labor. 

Taking  only  a  part  of  the  borrower's  or  laborer's 


Equal  Rights  of  Men.  107 

services  does  not  relieve  it  of  injustice.  The  nature 
of  the  oppression  is  the  same,  only  less  heinous  and 
flagrant.  He  who  took  a  penny  belonging  to  another 
is  a  thief  as  truly  as  the  man  who  took  a  pound.  Petit 
larceny  and  grand  larceny  differ  only  in  the  amount 
stolen.  The  man  who  takes  three  per  cent,  of  the 
labor  of  another  wrongfully  defrauds  as  the  man  who 
takes  fifty  per  cent.  The  nature  of  the  wrong  is  the 
same;  they  only  differ  in  degree. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact,  however,  often  repeated, 
that  ninety-five  out  of  every  hundred  who  go  into 
business  with  borrowed  capital,  that  is,  who  pay 
interest  on  "their  material  and  tools,"  do  give  the 
vigor  of  their  lives  to  the  service  of  usurers  and  at 
the  end  have  nothing. 

The  element  of  time  is  only  a  figment  that  clouds 
the  question  of  right  and  deceives  the  borrower.  In 
order  that  the  labor  of  another  may  be  appropriated 
it  is  necessary  to  give  him  time  to  work.  The  laborer 
may  dig  in  A's  garden  a  day  or  all  summer  and  he 
may  chop  wood  for  B  a  day  or  all  winter.  The  result 
is  the  same.  It  is  necessary  that  the  borrower  be 
given  time  to  earn  something  before  it  is  or  can  be 
appropriated.  The  question  is,  how  rapidly  can  he 
earn,  and  how  soon  can  his  earnings  be  collected? 
Long  time  loans  with  the  frequent  payments  of  the 
earnings  of  the  victim  are  the  ideal  conditions  of  the 
usurer. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
A  FALSE  BASAL  PRINCIPLE. 

That  usury  or  interest  must  be  held  under  the 
restraints  of  law  is  recognized  in  nearly  all  countries. 
It  is  treated  as  a  necessary  evil  that  cannot  be 
abolished,  and  therefore  must  be  controlled.  Bacon 
said,  "It  is  permitted  on  account  of  the  hardness  of 
men's  hearts." 

The  laws  differ  in  the  various  states.  The  rate  of 
interest  authorized  by  a  particular  state  is  not  invaria- 
bly fixed,  but  is  changed  as  the  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple seems  to  demand. 

That  which  determines  the  rate,  of  any  particular 
people,  at  any  particular  time,  is  the  productive  ability 
of  the  borrower.  The  rate  now  in  England  is  about 
three  per  cent.  The  conditions  being  such  that  the 
productive  power  of  the  borrower  is  very  limited.  In 
the  United  States,  where  the  natural  resources  are 
not  all  occupied,  and  the  avenues  for  successful  effort 
more  numerous,  the  average  is  seven  per  cent.  In 
the  western  states  of  the  United  States  the  rates  are 
higher  than  in  the  eastern,  for  the  material  resources 
lie  so  open  and  undeveloped  that  the  productive 
power  of  the  borrower  is  far  greater  than  in  the  older 
eastern  states. 

The  basal  for  the  rate  of  interest  is  the  benefit  or 

108 


A  False  Basal  Principle.  109 

the  advantage  of  the  loan  to  the  borrower.  What 
can  the  borrower  do  or  make  with  this  capital?  How 
great  a  benefit  can  he  gain  by  it?  The  rate  is  based 
on  the  earnings  of  the  borrower. 

The  transfer  from  R.  R.  station  to  R.  R.  station 
across  this  city  is  twenty-five  cents.  That  I  may 
make  my  train  and  meet  my  appointment,  that 
prompt  and  rapid  transfer  is  of  greater  value  to  me, 
but  that  does  not  give  the  hackman  the  right  to  an 
increased  charge. 

The  fare  to  the  distant  city  is  ten  dollars,  but  to 
me,  with  important  business  waiting  and  suffering,  it 
is  worth  an  hundred.  The  conductor  does  not  ask  me 
what  my  profits  are  to  be  from  this  trip.  He  collects 
the  same  fare  of  all  for  the  same  service,  whatever 
their  interests  may  be  in  the  passage. 

The  letter  which  is  freighted  with  a  proposition  that 
affects  my  future  life  is  two  cents.  Because  of  great 
value  to  me  the  postal  service  is  no  more  than  a 
letter  of  idle  gossip. 

Railroad  freight  rates  are  at  times  arbitrarily  fixed 
on  the  basis  of  the  benefit  to  the  patron.  The  rates 
of  freight  from  a  coal  mine  are  sometimes  made  by  a 
railroad  on  the  basis  of  the  profits  of  operating  the 
mine.  The  rates  to  a  quartz  mine  in  the  mountains 
are  often  so  regulated.  A  contractor,  dependent  on 
a  transportation  company,  must  often  share  his 
profits.  Such  rates  are  regarded  as  unjust  and  op- 
pressive and  efforts  are  made  to  correct  the  evil  by 
law. 


110      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

A  is  crossing  the  city  and  can  without  incon- 
venience carry  a  note  to  a  party  for  B.  That  accom- 
modation without  sacrifice  or  inconvenience  on  the 
part  of  A  is  no  basis  for  a  charge  upon  B,  though  the 
delivery  of  the  message  was  of  value  to  B,  but  if  A 
discovers  that  in  delivering  th  ,t  note  he  can  make  it 
a  matter  of  business  gain  to  himself,  that  would  not 
justify  B  in  claiming  a  part  of  the  profits  A  secured 
for  himself.  While  A  served  his  own  business  he 
also  favored  B.  It  would  be  unreasonable  and  unjust 
for  B  to  forget  the  favor  and  make  a  charge  against 
A,  because  in  the  delivery  of  the  note  A  managed  to 
gain  a  profit. 

Two  farmers  are  without  barns.  It  will  require  the 
labor  of  a  number  of  years  to  secure  the  requisite 
amount  of  lumber  and  other  material  to  enable  them 
to  erect  their  barns.  One  of  the  farmers  undertakes 
to  shelter  and  protect  from  decay  the  lumber  of  both, 
until  the  requisite  amount  can  be  secured.  This  is  a 
real  favor  to  the  other  and  is  accepted  readily.  He 
even  offers  to  pay  him  for  the  care  and  liability.  But 
he  discovers  afterward  that  his  neighbor,  by  wise, 
careful  and  skillful  piling,  has  made  from  this  lumber 
a  shelter  for  his  stock  and  grain.  That  he  has  so 
managed  as  to  gain  for  himself  a  benefit.  Then, 
with  the  false  principle  of  usury  he  makes  a  charge  for 
the  keeping  of  the  very  thing  for  which  he  was  will- 
ing to  pay  a  price. 


A  False  Basal  Principle.  Ill 

A  gentleman  not  wanting  his  coach  for  a  time,  but 
wishing  it  to  be  kept  in  perfect  repair,  and  his  team 
fed  and  exercised,  to  be  kept  sleek  and  strong,  leaves 
it  in  his  coachman's  care.  The  coachman  agrees 
to  keep  from  decay,  and  to  replace  should  one  die, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  term,  return  the  coach  in  per- 
fect condition,  no  mar  or  wear,  and  the  team  sleek 
and  strong  from  good  care,  feed  and  daily  exercise. 
But  the  coachman  discovers  that  in  the  daily  exercise 
of  the  team  he  can  carry  a  party  of  business  men  to 
and  from  their  offices,  and  secure  for  himself  a  gain. 
He,  at  the  end  of  the  term,  returns  the  carriage  and 
equipage  complete  as  he  received  it.  The  owner  has 
had  his  property  perfectly  cared  for  during  the  term 
he  could  not  use  it.  But  the  owner  learning  of  the 
benefit  to  the  keeper,  which  would  not  have  been 
possible  without  his  equipage,  demands  a  portion 
of  the  benefit  which  cost  him  nothing,  nor  in  the 
least  diminished  his  property. 

A  gentleman  has  a  warm,  rich  and  beautiful  robe, 
but  is  about  to  travel  a  number  of  years  among  the 
countries  of  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines, 
where  he  will  not  need  it,  and  afterward  visit  Siberia, 
where  he  will  need  and  use  it.  Another  undertakes 
to  relieve  him  of  all  care  of  it  during  these  years  and 
deliver  it  to  the  Siberian  home  ready  for  his  use.  He 
protects  it  from  the  moths  in  summer,  and  guards  it 
against  all  touch  or  taint,  and  delivers  it  in  the  perfect 
condition  in  which  it  was  received.  In  justice  he 


112      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

deserves  a  reward  from  the  owner,  and  if  he  received 
no  benefit,  would  receive  it,  but  it  is  found  that  he 
needed  it  for  his  comfort  by  the  way,  and  that  without 
it  he  should  have  perished.  Then  the  owner  demands 
a  reward  for  the  benefit  the  carrier  received.  The 
owner  did  no  service.  He  received  a  positive  benefit, 
but  the  porter,  who  carried  the  burden  all  the  way, 
must  pay  interest  or  rental  because  he  was  kept  from 
perishing  by  it. 

The  surprise  or  discovery  feature  is  introduced  into 
the  above  illustrations  to  emphasize  the  false  basis 
upon  which  the  rates  of  interest  rest.  In  the  actual 
practice  of  usury  the  lender  may  have  full  information 
as  to  the  use  of  the  loan  and  its  advantages  to  the 
borrower.  If  we  eliminate  this  feature  the  basis  still 
remains  untenable.  By  no  tortion  of  ethics  can  I 
demand  that  he,  who  does  me  a  favor,  shall  pay  me 
for  the  privilege. 

A  man  has  one  thousand  dollars  of  money  he  is 
not  using.  He  gives  it  to  another  to  keep  or  place 
in  a  drawer  in  his  vault.  To  care  for  this  and  be 
responsible  for  it,  a  commission  is  allowed,  for  it  is  no 
benefit  to  the  keeper.  Even  an  amount  is  asked  for 
the  drawer  in  the  vault,  without  responsibility.  To 
care  for  this  a  term  of  years  is  deserving  of  a  reward. 
But  now  keeping  the  property  equally  safe,  and  re- 
turning every  dollar  when  the  owner  calls  for  it,  is 
not  satisfactory  to  the  usurer.  If  this  money  has 
in  any  way  proved  a  benefit  to  the  keeper,  through 


A  False  Basal  Principle.  113 

his  wisdom  and  energy  and  skill,  he  demands  an 
increase.  What  is  this  loan  worth  to  you?  is  the 
question  of  the  usurer  to  the  borrower. 

The  basis  of  legal  interest  rates  is  the  amount  of 
benefit  the  borrower  gains  by  the  loan.  If  his  oppor- 
tunities in  a  state  are  favorable,  and  he  may  by  dili- 
gence make  a  large  gain,  the  rates  are  high.  If  in 
another  state  his  opportunites  are  so  limited  that, 
strive  as  he  may,  he  can  make  little  gain,  the  legal 
rates  will  be  low. 

The  basis  is  so  absurd  that  many  have  urged  the 
repeal  of  all  laws  regulating  the  rates  of  interest. 
"Why  should  the  laws  presume  to  level  the  rates  for  a 
whole  state?  The  possibilities  and  opportunities  of 
gain  are  infinitely  varied.  Every  borrower  knows 
his  own  conditions  and  the  amount  of  advantage  the 
loan  is  to  him  and  he  should  be  permitted  to  pay  for 
money  whatever  he  is  willing  to  pay." 

One  writer  thus  expresses  it,  "No  man  of  ripe  years 
and  of  sound  mind,  acting  freely,  and  with  his  eyes 
open,  ought  to  be  hindered,  with  a  view  to  his  advan- 
tage, from  making  such  bargains  in  the  way  of 
obtaining  money,  as  he  thinks  fit;  nor  anybody 
hindered  from  supplying  him  upon  any  terms  he 
thinks  proper  to  accede  to." 

Jeremy  Bentham  is  often  quoted  to  prove  the  ab- 
surdity of  all  laws  regulating  the  rates  of  interest,  and 
yet  all  his  elaborate  arguments  are  based  on  this 
false  principle. 


114      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

If  usury  is  wrong  only  when  the  borrower  can  make 
no  profit,  and  is  right  whenever  the  borrower  can 
make  a  gain  by  it,  and  the  rate  of  interest  is  to  be 
measured  by  that  gain,  then  all  laws  are  illogical  that 
limit  the  rate,  and  may  be  classed  among  those 
restraining  trade. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE  TRUE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

The  true  ethical  principle  that  should  govern  the 
relation  between  the  owner  of  property  and  the  per- 
son holding  that  property  as  a  loan,  does  not  differ 
from  the  principle  that  is  recognized  as  prevailing  in 
all  the  other  relations  of  life.  The  party  to  whom  the 
service  is  rendered  is  under  obligation.  The  party 
served  is  the  one  who  must  pay  for  the  service.  The 
party  served  must  pay  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
service  rendered  him.  If  that  service  is  great,  then 
the  payment  must  be  large.  If  the  service  is  slight, 
then  the  payment  is  small,  and  when  there  is  no 
service  then  no  payment  can  be  claimed. 

This  principle  is  recognized  in  all  worthy  and  up- 
right transactions.  It  is  the  service  rendered  that  is 
rewarded  in  a  court  of  justice.  An  employe  recovers 
his  wages  from  his  employer  for  his  services  rendered. 
The  condition  of  the  employer's  business  does  not 
enter  into  the  count.  It  may  have  been  unprofitable 
or  a  great  success  but  that  cannot  affect  the  claim 
either  way. 

A  physician  charges  for  the  services  given  a 
patient.  The  recovery  or  death  of  the  patient  can 
neither  increase  nor  diminish  them. 

In  service  we  always  surrender  something  of  our- 

115 


116      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

selves  or  of  our  own,  and  each  knows  the  sacrifice  or 
effort  he  has  made ;  he  cannot  know  the  value  of  this 
to  the  other,  and  he  need  not  know.  Full  compen- 
sation is  due  from  the  party  served  but  no  compen- 
sation is  due  when  no  service  is  given  nor  property 
surrendered. 

The  usurer's  whole  claim  is  for  the  service  of  his 
property.  But  he  does  not  surrender  a  particle  of 
his  wealth.  He  does  not  become  poorer  in  making 
his  loan.  He  holds  all  his  wealth  as  fully  as  before, 
whether  it  be  a  loan  of  money  or  grains  or  tools. 
There  has  been  no  outgo  of  property  for  which,  in 
any  other  relation,  he  could  claim  a  reward  or  com- 
pensation from  his  fellow.  He  simply  deposits  his 
property  with  his  fellow  and  takes  security  for  its 
safe  keeping.  It  must  be  preserved  perfectly  and 
restored  fully. 

When  we  consider  the  true  principle,  that  compen- 
sation is  due  always  for  services  rendered,  the  obliga- 
tion is  upon  the  lender  for  the  care  and  preservation 
of  his  property.  The  borrower  in  any  and  every  case 
gives  a  real  and  valuable  service  in  preservation  and 
restoration  at  the  end  of  the  term,  while  the  lender 
renders  no  personal  service  nor  does  he  part  with  a 
particle  of  his  wealth. 

There  is  always  a  service  rendered  in  caring  for  and 
preserving  the  property  of  another.  It  may  be  very 
great  or  it  may  be  very  small.  It  may  be  so  great 


The  True  Ethical  Principle.  117 

that  no  one  would  undertake  it  though  the  property 
should  be  freely  given  him. 

In  1800  the  "Faithful  Steward"  was  wrecked  in 
Delaware  bay  near  the  shore.  It  had  on  board  a 
large  number  of  passengers,  emigrants,  who  nearly 
all  perished.  Few  lives  were  saved  and  all  the 
property  was  lost.  One  young  man,  of  the  kin  of  the 
writer,  swam  ashore  through  the  breakers.  Before 
he  left  the  vessel  an  old  man  offered  him  a  stocking 
full  of  gold  if  he  cared  to  try  and  save  it.  Though 
young  and  vigorous  he  would  not  undertake  to  try 
to  save  it  for  it.  This  was  an  extreme  case  of  risk 
and  danger. 

In  another  extreme  case  the  service  may  be  very 
small,  reduced  to  the  minimum,  for  instance,  caring 
for  the  gold  of  another  by  locking  it  up  in  a  fire  and 
burglar-proof  safe.  For  this  simple  service  a  com- 
paratively small  charge  is  made.  But  caring  for  the 
property  of  another  is  always  some  service  that  earns 
a  reward  great  or  small. 

The  nature  of  the  service  is  not  changed  and  the 
principle  still  holds  when  the  deposit  is  made  with  a 
person  who  gives  ample  pledges  for  its  full  return; 
the  principle  still  holds  when  the  deposit  is  made  in 
a  farm  and  secured  there  by  mortgage,  making  it  safer 
than  in  the  iron  vault. 

The  true  ethical  principle,  equity  between  man  and 
man,  requires  that  the  holder  of  the  property  of 
another  shall  be  compensated  by  the  owner  of  the 


118      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

property  for  his  services  in  caring  for  and  preserving 
it.  The  amount  of  compensation  depends  on  the 
difficult  or  favorable  conditions  attending  its  care. 
These  conditions  greatly  vary,  perhaps  in  no  two 
cases  are  exactly  alike,  and  so  there  can  be  no  fixed 
price  or  rate  at  which  one  will  receive  and  care  for  the 
property  of  another.  The  extreme  limit  of  liberality 
permitted  is  that  he  may  care  for  the  property  of 
another  for  nothing.  He  is  not  permitted  to  pay  a 
price  for  the  privilege.  The  revealed  divine  law,  true 
ethics  and  equity  and  duty  of  self  preservation  forbid 
him.  Perfect  preservation  of  any  amount,  large  or 
small,  for  any  time,  long  or  short,  whatever  the  inci- 
dental advantages  to  the  borrower,  is  the  highest 
compensation  a  borrower  is  permitted  to  give  for  any 
loan.  The  demand  for  more  than  this  by  the  owner 
is  to  be  resisted  as  unjust  and  oppressive. 

An  express  company  receives  a  package  of  money 
for  which  it  receipts  and  becomes  responsible  and 
agrees  to  deliver  to  the  owner  at  some  distant  point. 
For  this  service  it  receives  compensation  in  accord- 
ance with  the  amount  of  service.  If  the  conditions 
are  dangerous  and  the  distance  great  the  charge  is 
large.  If  the  conditions  are  very  favorable  and  safe 
the  charges  are  small. 

If  the  amount  of  service  is  reduced  to  the  mini- 
mum, in  rare  cases,  no  charge  may  be  made.  But 
that  a  price  should  be  paid  for  the  privilege  of  car- 
ing for  and  conveying  it,  is  inconsistent  with  the 


The  True  Ethical  Principle.  119 

management  of  an  honest  business.  The  purpose 
would  be  either  to  rob  the  owner  of  his  wealth  or  to 
rob  the  employes  of  their  services. 

An  insurance  company  undertakes  to  protect  a 
property  for  a  term  of  years,  to  a  distant  date.  A 
rate  is  given  for  protection  from  a  single  element,  as 
fire.  If  all  destructive  agents  are  included  the  rate  is 
higher.  The  rate  is  higher  for  a  long  than  a  short 
period.  All  the  business  world  recognize  the  value  of 
this  service  and  nearly  every  kind  of  property  may 
now  be  insured.  The  premium  is  cheerfully  paid  by 
the  owner  of  the  property  for  the  service  rendered 
him.  It  is  a  real  and  valuable  service  to  have  his  prop- 
erty protected,  preserved,  or  restored,  so  that  it  can- 
not be  lost  before  the  distant  date.  It  is  conceivable 
that  a  property  might  be  so  indestructible  that  the 
risk  would  be  practically  nothing  and  a  policy  might 
be  issued  without  a  premium,  but  that  a  price  should 
be  paid  for  the  privilege  of  protecting  any  property  is 
utterly  inconsistent  with  rational  insurance. 

Now  usury  presumes  to  reverse  this  ethical  order 
and  requires  that  the  insurance  company  shall  pay 
the  owner  of  the  property  for  the  privilege  of  protect- 
ing it.  Under  usury  the  property  given  into  the 
care  of  another,  and  called  a  loan,  must  be  perfectly 
protected  and  preserved  by  the  borrower,  restored  if 
lost,  and  returned  in  full  to  the  owner  at  the  agreed 
distant  date,  and  a  price  paid  for  the  privilege  of  per- 
forming the  service. 


120      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury.    . 

The  true  ethical  principle  and  equity  in  the  rela- 
tions between  the  owner  of  a  property  and  the  one 
who  holds,  protects  and  preserves  it,  require  that 
the  owner  shall  render  to  the  holder  a  just  compen- 
sation. This  will  vary  in  different  conditions,  it  may 
be  very  small,  it  may  in  rare  cases  be  entirely  elimi- 
nated; but  they  also  utterly  forbid  that  the  party 
rendering  the  service  shall  pay  for  the  privilege  of 
serving. 

One  may  submit  to  an  injustice  in  order  to  gain  an 
advantage.  He  can  do  better  for  himself  by  sub- 
mitting than  by  resisting.  His  employer  may  be 
hard  and  oppressive  but  this  is  the  best  job  he  can 
get  and  he  holds  on,  but  that  does  not  justify  the 
oppressions  of  the  employer  up  to  the  breaking 
point.  It  may  be  to  the  advantage  of  a  borrower  to 
submit  to  the  exactions  of  usury,  that  is,  he  may  gain 
mor.e  wealth  by  borrowing  upon  interest  than  not, 
but  that  does  not  relieve  usury  of  its  oppression  up 
to  the  breaking  point  when  it  can  no  longer  be 
endured.  There  is  no  better  ethical  basis  for  low 
interest  than  high  interest.  Low  rates  of  interest  are 
oppressions  that  may  be  suffered  or  endured  for  a 
possible  gain,  but  high  rates  are  intolerable.  The 
principle  is  the  same  whatever  the  rate  of  interest, 
whether  it  be  low  or  high.  They  only  differ  in  the 
degrees  of  their  severity. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
WEALTH  IS  BARREN. 

That  wealth  can  produce  wealth  is  the  assumption 
of  Shylock. 

Shylock — "When  Jacob  grazed  his  Uncle  Laban's  sheep — 
This  Jacob  from  our  holy  Abraham  was 
The  third  possessor;  ay,  he  was  the  third." 

Antonio — "And  what  of  him?    Did  he  take  interest?" 

Shylock — "No,  not  take  interest;  not  as  you  would  say, 
Directly  interest.     Mark  what  Jacob  did."  J 

Antonio — "This  was  a  venture,  sir,  that  Jacob  served  for; 
A  thing  not  in  his  power  to  bring  to  pass — 
But  swayed  and  fashioned  by  the  hand  of  Heaven. 
Was  this  inserted  to  make  interest  good? 
Or  is  your  gold  and  silver,  ewes  and  rams?" 

Shylock— "I  can  not  tell;  I  make  them  breed  as  fast." 

— Merchant  of  Venice. 

It  is  only  intelligent  energy  that  can  produce 
wealth.  Even  the  natural  resources  must  be  sub- 
dued and  shaped  by  intelligent  energy  to  be  of  ser- 
vice to  man.  Trees  do  not  betake  themselves  into 
the  form  of  houses.  Land  does  not  transform  itself 
into  farms  and  gardens.  Coal  does  not  come  to  our 
fires  without  hands.  Ore  is  not  iron,  nor  is  clay  pot- 
tery. They  must  be  carefully  manipulated  by  the 
intelligent  laborer. 

Nothing  man  can  make  has  the  power  of  self  pro- 
pagation. All  wealth  is  as  barren  as  silver  and  gold, 

though  Shylock  claimed  he  could  make  them  breed 

121 


122      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

like  ewes  and  rams.    Life  alone  is  productive,  and  the 
secrets  of  life  man  has  not  touched. 

A  tree  or  animal  grows  by  the  life  that  is  in  it,  but 
the  accretions  of  wealth  are  from  the  efforts  of  intelli- 
gent energy  outside  of  itself.  Wealth  is  an  effect,  a 
result.  The  vital  energy  of  a  person,  of  "a  willing 
intelligent  being"  produces  wealth,  but  it  does  not  fol- 
low that  it  has  the  qualities  of  its  cause.  It  has  no 
intelligence,  nor  has  it  self-determining  power,  nor  is 
it  vital,,  nor  has  it  energy,  it  has  not  in  itself  the  force 
to  overcome  its  inertia,  the  energy  must  be  applied. 
It  has  no  power  to  increase  or  grow.  A  fortune  is 
built,  as  a  building  is  built,  brick  after  brick  is  added 
by  intelligent  hands. 

All  wealth  must  have  the  living  hands  applied  to 
cause  it  to  increase  even  the  smallest  amount.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  "productive"  capital.  It  is  so 
called  when  it  is  used  to  gather  and  appropriate  the 
earnings  of  others,  but  wealth  in  none  of  its  forms 
has  the  quality  or  power  of  producing. 

Money,  the  most  familiar  form,  is  barren.  A  bag 
of  dollars  stored  for  ages  will  not  have  increased  a 
single  coin.  No  one  holds  or  handles  money  on  the 
assumption  that  it  will  increase  in  his  hands.  Money 
is  a  care,  and  the  broker  who  holds  or  handles  it 
relies  for  his  compensation,  not  on  the  increase  of 
the  dollars  in  his  hands,  but  on  the  increase  from  some 
producer  to  whom  he  lends  it.  If  there  is  no  bor- 


Wealth  is  Barren.  123 

rower  he  takes  a  direct  commission  from  the  amount 
itself,  as  trustee  or  administrator  or  custodian. 

Money  is  readily  exchanged  for  any  other  property. 
Money  has  a  number  of  functions  but  in  exchange  it 
is  a  medium  by  which  the  value  of  articles  is  con- 
veyed. It  takes  the  place  of  the  bags  which  conveyed 
the  wheat,  of  the  crates  which  contained  the  potatoes, 
of  the  baskets  which  carried  the  peaches,  and  the 
wrapping  which  held  the  cotton  or  the  wool. 

Col.  Irish,  who  was  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Engrav- 
ing and  Printing  at  Washington,  when  he  died,  and 
under  whose  administration  the  present  building  was 
erected,  at  one  time  sent  to  the  wife  of  the  writer  a 
ten  dollar  bill,  wrapped  up  so  that  it  looked  like  a 
picture,  cabinet  size ;  this  was  accompanied  by  a  note, 
to  be  opened  first.  In  this  note  he  said  he  took 
pleasure  in  sending  her  an  excellent  likeness  of  our 
late  lamented  president,  which  he  would  be  pleased 
to  have  her  accept.  If  she  should  prefer  it  in  some 
other  form,  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  this  likeness  that 
it  would  change  instantly  at  the  will  of  the  holder 
into  any  form  desired;  that  this  was  the  peculiarity 
that  troubled  him,  as  he  had  been  unable  to  decide 
what  would  please  her  best,  and  had  finally  decided  to 
send  it  in  this  form,  and  let  her  change  it  into  any 
other  she  might  like  better. 

Money  is  a  peculiar  medium  which  will  hold  and 
carry  the  value  of  anything.  You  pour  in  your  wheat 
and  take  it  to  the  merchant,  who  empties  your  wheat 


124      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

and  fills  it  with  clothes,  he  carries  it  to  the  dealer  in 
any  article  needed  and  the  vessel  is  instantly  emptied 
and  refilled. 

The  values  of  the  products  of  laborers  in  the  vari- 
ous occupations  of  life  or  the  products  of  the  various 
climates  are  thus  readily  exchanged  by  money,  but 
the  gain  is  not  in  the  money.  The  art  in  trade  is  to 
study  and  know  the  products  and  needs  of  the 
laborers  of  one  class  or  country,  and  the  varied  pro- 
ducts and  needs  of  the  producers  of  another  class  or 
local  community.  The  skill  in  trade  is  in  supplying 
the  needs  of  one  from  the  products  of  the  other. 

The  profit  in  trade  is  the  gain  from  securing  for  an 
article  a  greater  portion  of  the  product  of  those  whose 
needs  are  supplied,  than  was  given  to  those  who 
produced  it.  The  harvester  cost  the  manufacturer 
twenty  days'  work.  The  farmer,  who  needs  and  pur- 
chases it,  pays  forty  days'  work  for  it.  The  farmer 
may  produce  one  hundred  bushels  of  wheat  with 
twenty-five  days'  work,  but  the  mechanics  in  the 
city,  who  need  it  for  bread,  may  give  twice  that 
amount  of  labor  for  that  quantity  of  wheat.  There 
is  a  wide  field  for  skill  and  profit  in  trade,  when  the 
products  and  needs  of  all  classes  and  all  lands  are 
considered.  But  money  does  not  add  to  wealth  in 
trade.  There  is  nothing  produced  by  it  in  trade.  It 
is  but  the  tool  by  which  values  are  conveyed,  and  no 
more  productive  than  baskets  or  crates  or  sacks. 
Intelligent  energy  produces'  all  the  profits  that  are 
secured  by  trading. 


Wealth  is  Barren.  125 

Modern  apologists  for  usury,  knowing  that  money 
is  unproductive  itself,  call  it  a  tool  for  production,  and 
as  it  can  be  readily  transformed  into  any  tool,  they 
try  to  avoid  the  logical  conclusion  that  the  taking  of 
interest  on  money  is  unjust  and  oppressive  to  the 
producer. 

But  no  tool  is  productive.  All  tools  are  but  the 
reaching  out  of  man  for  the  better  control  and 
mastery  of  material  things. 

The  tool  is  but  dead  matter;  the  productive  effici- 
ency is  in  the  vital  energy  of  the  intelligent  laborer. 
The  most  complicated  and  ingenious  tool  ever  made 
is  useless  without  the  operator.  It  is  as  helpless  as 
the  wire  without  the  electric  current;  as  helpless  as 
the  body  without  its  life,  for  the  body  is  but  man's 
tool,  preserved,,  and  kept  efficient,  and  made  produc- 
tive, by  the  living  energy  alone. 

Tools  are  but  the  reaching  out  of  the  vital  energy 
beyond  the  body.  Tools  are  but  the  means,  invented 
and  constructed,  by  which  the  man  can  overcome  his 
physical  limitations  and  accomplish  wonders,  the 
impossible  to  a  creature  wanting  in  his  intelligence. 

These  glasses  enable  dim  eyes  to  see  clearly.  There 
is  no  ability  in  the  glasses  to  see ;  they  would  be  of  no 
use  on  blind  eyes.  I  see,  these  spectacles  cannot  see. 
Enlarge  and  so  place  these  lenses  that  I  can  see 
bacteria,  or  the  mountains  of  the  moon,  yet  this 
microscope  or  this  telescope  has  no  more  life  nor  sight 
than  this  single  lens.  I,  with  it,  see  the  minute 


126      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

creation  or  examine  the  distant  planet.  It  is  but  the 
extension  of  my  eye. 

This  pen  and  paper  and  this  book  are  but  the 
means  by  which  I  reach  and  reason  with  my  fellow- 
men.  They  are  but  my  tools  to  convey  my  thought. 
I  am  reasoning  with  you,  not  this  paper  and  ink. 

My  hand  is  the  natural  tool  with  which  I  labor.  I 
may  work  in  the  garden  and  plant  the  seed  and 
destroy  the  weeds  with  my  hand  alone,  and  there  is 
no  dispute  but  that  I  do  the  work.  I  take  a  small 
weeder  in  my  hand  and  greatly  increase  my  efficiency. 
I  take  a  hoe  and  reach  out  further  and  greatly  add 
to  my  efficiency.  I  am  the  efficient  agent.  There  is 
no  power  in  the  weeder  or  the  hoe.  I  take  my  plow, 
as  my  tool,  and  I  tear  up  the  soil  and  prepare  it  for 
my  harvest.  I  take  the  complicated  harvester  and 
gather  it  into  my  barn.  In  every  part  of  that  process 
the  tool  is  but  the  reaching  out  of  my  energy  beyond 
my  body.  There  is  no  place  where  that  tool  becomes 
vitalized  and  productive. 

I  am  a  porter,  I  carry  packages  in  my  hands.  To 
increase  my  efficiency  I  build  me  a  cart,  and  smooth 
a  roadway,  by  which  I  am  able  to  carry  more  and 
heavier  packages  with  ease.  I  construct  a  roadway 
across  the  continent,  and  with  the  power  which  I 
employ  I  carry  the  commerce  of  the  nation.  I  build 
ships  and  direct  them  from  continent  to  continent 
and  handle  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Now  there 
is  no  place  from  this  simple  carriage  in  the  hand,  to 


Wealth  is  Barren.  127 

the  complicated  and  stupendous  system  of  transporta- 
tion, where  the  tool  is  not  wholly  dependent  on  the 
vital  intelligent  energy. 

When  the  vital  principle  leaves  this  body,  then 
hands,  eyes  and  the  whole  body  is  helpless.  With- 
draw the  vital  energy  from  these  means  by  which 
man  extends  his  power  beyond  the  body,  and  all  the 
implements  of  agriculture  will  not  produce  a  harvest, 
and  the  wheels  of  commerce  on  land  and  sea  would 
instantly  stop. 

There  is  no  place  in  the  most  complicated  machine 
where  it  begins  to  produce.  The  machine  may  show 
the  greatest  ingenuity  in  its  invention  and  the  perfec- 
tion of  skill  in  its  construction,  and  the  intelligence 
necessary  to  its  operation  may  be  reduced  to  the 
minimum,  yet  no  where  and  at  no  time  can  it  pro- 
duce of  itself. 

When  a  criminal  is  arraigned  in  court  the  responsi- 
bility is  placed  upon  the  person,  the  intelligent 
energy,  always.  It  matters  not  by  what  tools  the 
burglary  or  other  criminal  act  was  committed.  The 
man  who  handled  the  tools  is  held  accountable  for 
the  results.  His  tools  may  show  the  greatest  ingenu- 
ity and  the  highest  skill  in  their  construction  but  they 
do  not  share  his  guilt.  .  He  is  the  efficient  and  respon- 
sible cause.  If  this  were  not  so  justice  could  be  so 
perverted  that  the  preservation  of  the  order  and  the 
security  of  society  would  be  impossible. 

Every  tool  is  itself  produced,  and  its  maker  must  be 


128      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

rewarded  or  paid  once,  but  there  the  claim  for  the 
tool  ends.  The  laborer  who  constructs  the  machine 
cannot  demand  repayment  over  and  over.  The  skilled 
mechanic  who  produced  this  pair  of  lenses  must  be 
paid,  but  he  has  no  claim  for  second  payment.  To 
secure  repayment  he  must  make  another  pair.  The 
maker  of  this  pen  and  this  paper  must  be  paid,  but 
that  ends  his  claim.  The  maker  of  the  hoe  or  cart 
or  engine  must  have  the  reward  he  has  earned,  but 
can  prefer  no  second  claim. 

There  is  no  question  when  the  laborer  makes  and 
owns  his  own  tool.  The  labor  of  constructing  the 
tool  must  be  rewarded  as  well  as  the  laborer  in  its 
operation. 

When  the  tools  are  complicated  and  require  the 
skill  of  many,  the  makers  of  the  machine  are  usually 
different  persons  from  the  laborers  who  operate  it. 
In  this  case  the  payment  of  all  must  come  from  the 
finished  product.  Those  who  constructed  the 
machine  and  those  who  operate  it  must  be  paid  by 
the  consumers. 

If  the  shoe  plant  is  built  and  operated,  then  from 
the  shoes  produced  must  come  the  payment  for  all. 
The  workmen  who  built  the  plant  and  the  engines 
and  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  shoe,  must  be  paid  by  the  consumer  of 
shoes.  The  workmen  who  built  the  plant  must  be 
as  fully  compensated  as  those  who  operate  it,  but 
being  compensated,  they  have  no  claim  for  recom- 


Wealth  is  Barren.  129 

pensation  for  the  same  work.  To  be  paid  again  they 
must  build  a  new  plant.  The  operators  must  be 
compensated  for  every  shoe  they  make,  but  they  can 
not  reclaim  payment  over  and  over  again.  To  re- 
ceive more  pay  they  must  make  more  shoes. 

Both  classes  of  laborers  have  a  right  to  full  com- 
pensation for  all  the  labor  performed.  Neither  party 
has  a  right  to  demand  a  second  payment  for  the  same 
labor. 

It  would  be  manifestly  as  unjust  for  the  construc- 
tors of  the  plant  to  compel  the  operators  to  pay  them 
over  and  over  again,  as  it  would  be  for  the  operators 
of  the  machine,  having  supplied  the  community  with 
shoes,  to  demand  payment  over  and  over  without 
making  another  shoe.  The  shoes  will  wear  out,  so 
will  the  machines.  It  is  as  unreasonable  for  the  first 
class  of  laborers  to  compel  the  operators  of  their 
machinery  to  keep  the  same  in  repair,  as  for  the 
operators  to  compel  their  customers  to  keep  their 
shoes  in  perfect  condition.  For  the  first  laborers  to 
receive  a  new  payment  they  must  build  a  new  plant, 
and  for  the  operators  to  receive  a  new  payment  they 
must  make  new  shoes. 

The  confusion  of  ideas  comes  in  when  there  inter- 
venes a  third  party  between  these  two  classes  of 
laborers.  This  third  party  meets  the  demands  of  the 
class  of  laborers  who  build  the  plant  and  machines, 
from  hoarded  wealth,  and  then  exacts  payment  from 
those  who  operate  it,  This  is  then  called  productive 


130      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

capital,  but  it  is  no  more  productive  than  the  money 
in  the  bank  vault.  The  producing,  so  called,  is  but 
the  exacting  of  a  part  of  that  which  the  operators 
produce.  It  is  the  exacting  of  payment  that  never 
pays.  The  operators  are  compelled  to  be  forever 
buying,  yet  the  plant  is  never  bought.  The  capitalist 
is  forever  selling,  yet  the  plant  is  never  sold. 

Usually,  the  usurer  is  a  fourth  party  that  stands  yet 
behind  the  third  party,  taking  no  risks,  demanding 
complete  security  for  his  loan  and  also  an  increase 
out  of  the  products  of  the  operators.  The  third  party 
assumes  all  care  and  guarantees  against  all  losses  and 
depends  for  his  compensation  on  a  portion  of  the 
product  after  the  demands  of  the  fourth  party  are 
satisfied.  This  third  party  may  be  an  active  producer. 
All  that  he  receives  may  be  fully  earned  in  care,  over- 
sight and  management  of  the  business  of  the  plant. 

But  the  fourth  party  can  have  no  claim  for  his 
services,  he  has  no  part  in  the  production.  The 
absurdity,  the  figment  that  his  capital  is  productive, 
is  introduced  to  cover  the  evident  fraud  of  appropriat- 
ing, without  compensation,  a  portion  of  the  products 
of  the  operators.  He  has  no  more  claim  to  an 
increase  of  his  capital  year  by  year  and  a  doubling 
in  a  term  of  years,  than  the  laborers  who  built  it 
have  to  the  same  plant,  perfect  and  unworn  at  the 
end  of  a  term,  and  in  addition,  another  plant  equal 
in  every  respect.  They  built  but  one,  they  have  no 
claim  upon  a  second.  For  the  usurer,  who  takes  their 


Wealth  is  Barren.  131 

place,  to  double  his  wealth,  and  yet  the  debt  be  undis- 
charged, is  a  flagrant  fraud. 

The  underlying  falsehood  is  that  wealth  changes 
its  nature  when  put  in  the  hands  of  a  live  man  and 
becomes  productive.  It  is  acknowledged  that  wealth 
lying  in  the  vault  is  barren  and  at  the  same  time  it 
is  claimed  that  it  produces  in  the  hands  of  an  intelli- 
gent agent.  But  it  is  the  same  dead,  helpless,  barren 
thing  wherever  it  may  be  found  and  whatever  form 
it  may  be  made  to  take.  The  dollar  taken  from  the 
vault  and  exchanged  for  a  hoe  does  not  receive  this 
new  quality.  The  hoe  is  as  dead  as  the  dollar.  When 
this  hoe  is  in  the  hands  of  the  workman  it  is  the  same 
barren  thing  is  was  before  he  picked  it  up.  These 
glasses  are  precisely  the  same  when  astride  my  nose 
as  when  lying  on  the  table.  It  is  not  true  that  wealth 
in  any  form,  though  it  be  that  of  a  useful  tool,  takes 
on  this  new  quality  or  attribute  when  in  the  hands  of 
a  live  man. 

A  man's  labor  is  more  productive  with  suitable 
tools  than  without  them.  The  same  energy  will 
secure  far  greater  returns.  If  it  were  not  so  he 
would  not  trouble  to  make  tools  or  use  them.  But 
to  call  tools  productive  agents  and  so  reward  them  is 
to  rob  intelligent  energy,  skill  and  inventive  genius 
of  that  which  they  alone  can  produce.  This  degrades 
the  man  to  the  level  of  the  tool  or  exalts  the  tool  to 
the  height  of  its  maker. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
WEALTH  DECAYS. 

All  man-made  wealth  is  subject  to  inevitable  decay. 
Aristotle  said,  "Labor  produces  all  wealth,"  but  the 
product  has  no  sooner  left  the  laborer's  hands  than  it 
begins  to  perish.  The  vital  energy  that  produced  it 
must  follow  to  preserve  it  from  the  ravages  of  time. 

Take  the  life,  the  vital  part,  from  the  body,  and 
corruption  begins.  So  with  all  that  has  been  pro- 
duced, withdraw  the  vital  force  and  ruin  immediately 
follows.  The  vital  energy  must  ever  be  present  and 
active  to  preserve  it. 

Fruits  and  grains  and  provisions  of  all  kinds  for 
human  food  rapidly  perish.  The  laborer  must  be 
continually  active,  producing  and  preserving,  or  the 
race  would  be  starving  in  a  fortnight.  Even  the 
miraculously  bestowed  manna,  became  corrupt  in  a 
night.  It  had  to  be  gathered  day  by  day. 

Flocks  and  herds  need  the  shepherd's  care.  They 
are  subject  to  disease  and  natural  enemies  and  are 
short  lived,  so  that  however  large  and  strong,  and 
healthy  the  herd  of  cattle,  or  the  flock  of  sheep,  it 
would  be  soon  scattered  and  lost  to  the  owner  without 
watchful  care. 

Tools   and    instruments   of   production,    great    or 

small,  if  used,  soon  need  to  be  renewed,  or  if  unused 
132 


Wealth  Decays.  133 

perish  even  sooner.  Neglected  they  speedily  decay. 
The  locomotive  left  unattended  on  the  track  would 
soon  be  utterly  useless  from  the  destructive  elements 
of  rain  and  heat,  frosts  and  sunshine. 

The  palace,  that  floats  on  the  ocean,  would  be  a 
prey  to  barnacles,  to  winds  and  waves,  to  shoals  and 
rocks,  and  would  soon  disappear,  without  the  con- 
stant hand  of  intelligent  vital  energy  to  direct  and 
preserve  it.  Houses  untenanted  and  uncared  for 
soon  decay.  Leaks  unstopped,  broken  windows 
unrepaired,  and  vermin  unrestrained,  soon  make 
them  unfit  for  habitation.  Farms  and  plantations  go 
back  speedily  to  weeds  and  wilderness  when  unculti- 
vated. Great  cities  like  Babylon  and  Nineveh  are 
soon  so  covered  with  dust  that  we  have  to  dig  to  find 
their  ruins. 

Decay  is  written  over  every  form  of  man-made 
wealth.  There  is  needed  constantly  the  touch  of  the 
laborer  for  its  preservation. 

Gold,  silver  and  precious  stones  are  the  least  sub- 
ject to  decay.  They  are  not,  however,  made,  but 
found,  and  simply  refined  and  polished.  The  inde- 
structibility of  silver  and  gold  have  made  them  the 
money  metals  of  the  world,  quite  as  much  as  their 
rarity,  their  beauty  and  malleability.  In  them  wealth 
could  be  stored  and  moth  and  rust  would  not  corrupt. 

But  even  gold  and  silver  will  disappear.  The  thief 
will  break  through  and  steal.  They  must  be,  there- 
fore, car.efully  guarded.  The  tax  or  levy  of  the 


134      Scriptural,  Ethical  arid  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

government  for  its  part  in  the  protection  must  be 
met,  so  that  even  gold  and  silver  must  also  gradually 
slip  away. 

Decay  is  upon  all  wealth  and  the  hand  of  the 
laborer  must  be  ever  present  for  its  preservation. 

This  law  is  universal.  Even  the  Divine  Creator 
must  continue  to  uphold  his  creation.  His  sustain- 
ing hand  cannot  be  withdrawn.  He  must  preserve 
by  his  power  and  ever  guide  and  direct,  or  disorder 
and  chaos  will  ensue. 

Usury  or  interest  presumes  to  ignore  this  order  of 
nature  and  demands  not  only  that  the  borrower  shall 
resist  this  tendency  of  capital  to  decay,  but  shall  also 
pay  a  price  for  the  privilege. 

That  any  one  should  undertake  to  care  for  and 
preserve  the  property  of  another  without  compensa- 
tion is  unreasonable,  but  that  any  one  should  volun- 
tarily pay  a  premium  for  the  privilege  can  only  be 
explained  by  misguided  judgment  or  a  perverted 
moral  sense. 

No  one  would  be  responsible  for,  and  care  for  and 
pay  tax  upon  the  money  of  another  and  himself  get 
from  it  no  return.  Trustees  and  administrators 
receive,  and  feel  they  earn,  a  commission  for  this 
caring  for  the  property  of  others. 

When  this  wealth  is  in  the  form  of  a  tool,  or  manu- 
facturing plant,  the  responsibility  is  greater.  The 
owner  asks  that  it  be  preserved  perfectly.  There 
must  be  no  decline  in  value,  from  new  improved 


Wealth' Decays.  135 

machinery,  and  all  accidents  must  be  made  good;  if 
destroyed  by  fire,  it  must  be  rebuilt.  To  take  this 
for  a  year  or  term  of  years,  is  a  responsibility  no  one 
would  feel  justified  in  assuming  in  justice  to  himself. 
He  would  be  using  his  own  vital  force  to  preserve  the 
perishable  property  of  another. 

A  man  has  a  farm,  fertile  and  well  improved,  and 
well  stocked.  He  is  to  be  absent  for  a  time.  He 
asks  as  a  favor  that  another  watch  it  with  care,  pre- 
serve the  stock  in  condition,  if  any  die,  replace  them, 
and  in  short,  so  preserve  that  he  shall  have  the  farm 
at  his  return,  just  as  fertile,  the  stock  just  as  young 
and  valuable,  the  implements  unworn  and  no  signs 
of  decay  on  the  buildings ;  if  any  burn,  rebuild  them. 
This  would  be  a  favor  only  the  kindest  and  weakest 
of  neighbors  or  friends  would  undertake,  and  what 
no  man  would  be  justified  in  asking  of  another.  This 
is  loaning  without  interest  and  this  is  the  borrower, 
who  pays  only  the  principal  and  no  increase. 

The  usurer  says,  Care  for  my  property  and  pay  me 
for  the  opportunity.  Keep  it  intact.  Make  good 
every  loss  and  return  to  me  an  increase  which  you  by 
your  energy  and  effort  may  produce. 

The  rates  of  interest  greatly  vary.  The  average  in 
the  United  States  is  about  seven  per  cent.,  by  statis- 
tics of  the  government  only  recently  issued.  At 
seven  per  cent.,  interest  paid  annually  or  added  to 
debt  for  ten  years,  the  debt  is  doubled. 

The  usurer  or  interest   taker   says,  You   take  this 


136      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

hundred  dollars  and  care  for  it  for  me  for  ten  years 
and  then  bring  me  two  hundred  dollars.  Take  this 
wheat  and  this  corn  and  in  ten  years  bring  me  back 
just  twice  the  amount.  Take  these  horses  and  these 
sheep  and  cattle  and  care  for  them  for  ten  years  and 
return  them  just  as  good  as  they  are  now,  and  other 
horses,  cattle  and  sheep  in  equal  number,  which  you 
have  produced  in  these  ten  years. 

Take  this  shop  with  all  its  tools  and  implements 
and  care  for  it  so  that  in  ten  years  you  can  return  it  to 
me  in  as  perfect  order  as  now,  and  also  build  me  with 
your  labor  and  energy  another  shop,  just  like  it,  and 
equip  it  in  every  way  just  as  complete  as  this,  and  on 
my  return  give  both  to  me.  Take  this  farm,  fertile 
as  it  is,  with  its  buildings  and  animals  and  imple- 
ments, and  preserve  them  perfectly,  not  a  thing  shall 
decay  or  decline  in  value ;  make  good  every  loss,  and 
at  the  end  of  ten  years  return  it  to  me  and  also 
another  farm  which  you  have  earned  during  these  ten 
years,  of  equal  acreage  and  fertility,  equally  improved 
with  live  stock  and  implements. 

The  usurer  gains  the  preservation  of  his  own  per- 
ishable property,  and  he  gains  also  the  product  of  the 
vital  force  of  his  victim. 

This  law  of  decay  is  a  natural  limitation  to  the 
accumulation  of  any  producer.  As  decay  begins  at 
once,  a  part  of  the  vital  energy  must  be  expended  in 
the  preservation  of  that  already  produced.  As  the 
accumulations  increase,  more  ^npro-v  is  required  for 


,-'•''  OF  THE 

¥4»IVSR81TY 

• 
Wealth  Decays.  137 

its  preservation,  and  less  remains  for  active  produc- 
tion. Time  does  not  relax  his  work  of  ruin,  and  the 
resisting  energy  must  be  constant.  The  tendency  to 
decay  is  such  that  soon  the  energy  required  to  pre- 
serve that  already  gained  leaves  none  to  produce,  and 
the  accumulations  must  cease. 

To  this  point  the  rich  fool  in  the  parable  had  come. 
He  had  abundance  accumulated  and  the  problem  was 
to  preserve  it,  until  he  could  consume  it.  "This  will 
I  do,  I  will  pull  down  my  barns,  and  build  greater; 
and  there  will  I  bestow  all  my  fruits  and  my  goods. 
And  I  will  say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much 
goods  laid  up  for  many  years;  take  thine  ease,  eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry." 

The  usurer  hands  his  goods  to  another  to  build  the 
barns  and  keep  for  him,  while  he  is  free  from  its  care ; 
and,  more,  he  requires  of  his  victim  not  only  that  he 
shall  preserve,  resisting  all  decay,  but  that  he  shall 
actually  pay  him  for  the  privilege. 

Had  the  rich  fool  not  lived  in  his  day,  when  usury 
was  a  crime,  but  in  this  age  of  folly,  he  would  have 
apportioned  his  goods  among  his  foolisher  neighbors 
upon  interest,  to  keep  for  him,  and  then  not  only  he, 
for  "many  years,"  but  his  posterity  forever,  could  be 
at  ease,  eating,  drinking,  and  making  merry.  The 
silly  borrowers  would  supply  all  the  needs  of  his 
endowed  family,  for  the  privilege  of  caring  for  the 
goods. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
THE  DEBT  HABIT. 

The  debt  habit  of  mind  is  the  disposition  or  tend- 
ency to  look  to  things  we  have  not  as  necessary  to 
our  success:  To  yearn  for  other  opportunities  and 
other  means  than  those  we  have  in  our  hands:  To 
feel  helpless  without  them  and  willing  to  incur  debt 
to  secure  them.  The  independent,  self-reliant  dis- 
position takes  account  of  its  own  powers  and  oppor- 
tunities and  means,  and  plans  with  these  to  accom- 
plish the  very  most.  This  old  self-reliant,  independ- 
ent spirit,  that  scorned  debt,  has  largely  passed  away. 
To  incur  debt  is  now  the  common  habit  and  has 
become  respectable. 

All  evil-doers  encourage  and  stimulate  the  par- 
ticular fashion  or  habit  or  appetite  or  passion  on 
which  they  thrive.  Usury  thrives  on  debt.  If  no  one 
was  in  debt  then  usurers  would  be  harmless.  It  is 
this  debt  habit  that  gives  them  the  large  field  for  their 
operations  and  secures  to  them  their  harvest. 

The  agreement  to  pay  interest  preserves  for  a  time 
the  feeling  of  independence  that  would  be  wounded 
by  receiving  a  loan  as  a  favor.  There  is  usually  a 
feeling  of  joy  and  elation  in  the  borrower  that  confi- 
dence in  him  is  so  great,  and  his  credit  is  so  high,  that 
he  can  be  entrusted  with  a  loan. 

138 


The  Debt  Habit.  139 

By  incurring  a  debt  there  seems  to  promise  the 
opening  up  of  opportunities  that  have  been  denied, 
and  a  possible  field  for  the  successful  exertion  of  his 
pent  up  energies. 

The  present  intended  use  of  the  loan,  too,  seems  so 
attractive  and  profitable,  and  the  buoyant,  hopeful 
spirit  does  not  doubt  that  the  loan  can  be  easily  and 
promptly  repaid. 

The  temptations  to  debt  do  not  come  to  the  vicious 
and  idle  and  worthless,  but  to  the  most  worthy,  indus- 
trious, talented,  reliable  and  enterprising,  those  who 
will  be  the  most  productive  in  their  fields  of  effort. 
Its  very  approach  is  flattering  and  therefore  so  hard 
to  resist. 

A  bright,  intelligent,  noble  young  man  with  high 
aims  and  worthy  purposes  yearns  for  an  education,, 
but  the  opportunities  seem  to  be  denied  him;  but 
there  is  a  fund  at  low  interest  at  his  service. 

A  lively,  energetic  young  man,  with  industrious 
and  economical  habits,  is  anxious  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness ;  his  youth,  character  and  energy  bring  the  loan 
to  his  feet. 

The  young  man  with  pure  yearningfor  domestic  life 
and  a  home,  with  a  reputation  that  is  above  reproach 
and  of  commendable  energy  and  thrift,  has  a  home 
pressed  upon  him,  to  be  paid  for  in  long-time  pay- 
ments. He  can  fill  it  with  furniture  "on  the  install- 
ment plan."  With  intellectual  taste,  he  can  fill  his 


140      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

library  with  just  the  books  he  desires  "on  the  install- 
ment plan."  Is  he  musical  in  his  taste,  he  can  fill  his 
parlor  with  musical  instruments  "on  the  installment 
plan."  His  needs  and  tastes  can  all  be  gratified  at 
once  by  incurring  debt.  To  avoid  debt  there  must 
be  a  determined  and  unremitted  effort  to  resist.  Few 
have  been  able  to  escape.  The  aggregate  of  private 
indebtedness  can  not  be  told. 

Few  manufacturing  plants  are  free  from  debt. 
They  are  usually  carrying  all  the  load  their  credit 
enables  them  to  secure.  Railroads  and  other  corpor- 
ations are  under  bonded  debts  that  tax  their  trade 
to  the  utmost  to  sustain. 

Counties  and  municipalities  have  caught  the  con- 
tagious habit.  Bonds  are  issued  to  build  school 
houses,  town  halls,  viaducts,  water-works,  and  pave 
streets. 

There  lies  on  this  table  a  list  of  all  the  cities  in  this 
great  land,  the  United  States,  with  their  number  of 
inhabitants  and  their  bonded  debts.  There  are  but 
six  small  cities  in  the  long  list  without  debt.  In  some 
the  amount  is  enormous,  the  city  debt  in  cases  run- 
ning up  to  one  hundred  and  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
and  two  hundred  dollars  per  inhabitant.  That  is, 
there  is  a  city  debt  on  each  man,  woman  and  child 
of  two  hundred  dollars.  On  this  amount  interest 
must  be  paid,  twelve  dollars  per  year,  one  dollar  per 
month  for  every  man,  woman  and  child. 


The  Debt  Habit.  141 

There  lies  also  on  the  table  a  report  of  the  financial 
condition  of  the  nearest  great  city.  It  is  rendered  in 
a  cheerful  mood  and  declares  the  city's  credit  "tip 
top."  The  indebtedness  is  eight  millions,  but  the 
assessed  valuation  of  the  city  is  so  high  that  two 
million  more  bonds  can  be  issued  before  the  limit  of 
indebtedness  is  reached  as  established  by  the  general 
law.  This  is  regarded  as  a  most  favorable  showing 
and  the  assurance  is  given  that  all  the  contemplated 
public  improvements  can  be  pushed  without  interrup- 
tion. There  is  no  thought  of  stopping  until  the 
extreme  limit  is  reached. 

This  habit  extends  to  the  churches  and  benevolent 
enterprises.  There  is  scarcely  a  church  that  is  not 
paying  interest  on  some  debt.  Local  societies  are 
often  greatly  hindered  in  their  work.  A  benevolent 
agency  of  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  denomina- 
tions issued  a  piteous  appeal  to  their  constituents  for 
help,  declaring  that  the  interest  on  their  debts 
amounted  to  one  thousand  dollars  per  week. 

The  debt  habit  has  seized  the  nations  and  the  most 
enlightened.  This  is  so  true  that  debts  are,  in 
pleasantry,  spoken  of  as  a  sign  of  a  nation's  progress. 
These  aggregate  billions  and  are  rapidly  increasing. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  says  the  debt  of 
England  was  reduced  five  hundred  millions  in  twenty 
years.  To  the  astonishment  of  all  the  world,  the 
United  States  began  to  pay  her  debt,  eighteen 
hundred  million,  in  thirty  years.  But  these  stand 


142      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

alone  among  the  nations.  The  national  debts  do  not 
grow  less,  but  are  rapidly  increasing.  Both  the 
United  States  and  England  are  now  increasing  their 
indebtedness  each  year. 

The  world  has  gone  debt  mad.  It  has  become  a 
great  harvest  field,  ripe  for  the  usurers. 

Debts  may  at  times  be  unavoidable.  They  may  at 
times  be  positively  beneficial.  There  may  be  times 
when  the  system  is  in  such  a  condition  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  arsenic  in  small  doses,  but  arsenic  has  no 
place  in  the  menu  of  a  healthy  man.  So  debts  may 
be  necessary  to  those  who  have  fallen  into  decay  or 
have  been  unfortunate,  but  they  should  find  no  place 
in  the  normally  healthy  financial  conditions  of  an 
individual  or  incorporation  or  nation. 

Debts  make  no  man  the  richer.  A  man  is  no 
richer  when  he  has  secured  a  loan,  than  he  was  before. 
Paying  debts  makes  no  man  poorer.  He  but  relieves 
himself  of  the  property  of  another. 

Paying  a  national  debt  destroys  no  wealth.  If 
owed  at  home,  it  is  but  a  transfer  from  one  hand  or 
pocket  to  another. 

Adjusting  the  world's  debts,  private,  corporate, 
municipal,  or  national,  the  world  would  remain  as 
rich  and  productive.  Not  a  material  thing  would 
perish.  No  man  would  suffer  the  loss  of  any  right 
or  of  any  property,  but  it  would  be  the  destruction 
of  the  device  by  which  the  usurers  appropriate  to 
themselves  the  productions  of  others, 


The  Debt  Habit.  143 

Freed  from  this  debt  habit  of  mind,  and  the  inde- 
pendent, self-reliant  disposition  replaced,  this 
anomalous  condition  would  disappear;  the  producer 
would  receive  again  his  full  earnings  and  the  great 
army  of  parasites,  that  has  grown  up,  and  that  feed 
so  richly  on  the  labors  of  others,  would  be  compelled 
to  turn  producers  or  perish. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
THE  BORROWER  IS  SERVANT  TO  THE  LENDER. 

Solomon's  declaration  that,  "The  borrower  is 
servant  to  the  lender,"  was  spoken  without  reference 
to  usury.  Loaning  upon  increase  was  not  lawful  in 
his  day,  and  was  condemned  by  him  in  his  proverb, 
"He  that  by  usury  and  unjust  gain  increaseth  his 
substance,  he  shall  gather  it  for  him  that  will  have 
pity  on  the  poor." 

A  loan  binds  the  borrower  to  the  lender  though  he 
pay  no  increase.  There  comes  a  sense  of  subservi- 
ency and  subordination  that  can  not  be  thrown  off. 

He  becomes  steward  of  another's  goods,  and  frees 
the  owner  of  their  care,  but  they  remain  subject  to 
the  owner's  order.  The  preservation  of  goods  hinder 
any  great  accumulation  by  any  single  producer,  but 
if  he  can  be  freed  from  its  care,  then  all  his  energies 
can  be  used  to  continue  production.  Many  find  it 
as  hard  to  keep  property  as  it  is  to  earn  it. 

The  hunter  or  fisherman  takes  with  him  his  lackey 
to  carry  his  game.  If  game  is  plentiful  and  the 
hunter  successful,  he  would,  otherwise,  soon  be  com- 
pelled to  discontinue  his  hunt  from  the  burden  of  fish 
and  game.  But,  freed  from  that  care  and  burden,  he 
can  continue  his  hunt  indefinitely.  So,  the  borrower, 
even  when  he  pays  no  interest,  as  a  lackey,  without 
wages,  cares  for  the  earnings  of  the  lender,  leaving 
him  free  to  continue  his  earning  unhindered, 

144 


The  Borrower  is  Servant  to  the  Lender.         145 

A  valet  cares  for  the  clothes  of  his  master  until  he 
calls  for  them.  The  borrower,  without  interest,  as  a 
valet,  without  pay,  cares  for  the  goods  of  the  lender 
until  he  needs  them. 

The  independent  spirit  of  the  borrower  is  not 
immediately  lost.  The  servile  spirit  and  conscious 
sense  of  bondage  may  not  be  felt  at  once.  Likely 
the  first  sensation  on  receiving  a  loan  is  an  elation 
bordering  on  ecstasy. 

The  poor  man  who  is  offered  a  loan  is  usually 
greatly  delighted.  There  is  hope  of  relief  from  the 
limitations  and  restraints  that  have  been  as  a  wall 
round  about  him.  The  loan  seems  to  throw  down 
these  walls  and  give  him  an  opportunity  to  secure 
greater  results  and  achieve  success.  But  the  delight 
is  transient  and  the  sense  of  greater  liberty  is  brief. 
The  prison  walls  are  down,  but  the  debt  holds  him 
like  a  ball  and  chain.  He  has  only  exchanged  one 
restraint  for  another  worse;  he  has  leaped  from  the 
pan  into  the  fire.  The  spirit  loses  its  hopefulness 
and  independence  and  becomes  servile  and  cringing. 

Milton  represents  our  first  parents,  after  their  first 
sin,  as  intoxicated  in  delight,  but  the  consciousness 
of  their  degredation  and  shame  soon  followed.  So 
the  first  sensation  from  a  loan  is  of  relief  and  hope; 
the  future  looks  bright,  but  the  sense  of  subjection 
to  the  lender  is  sure  to  follow. 

He  forfeits  the  free,  independent,  self-reliant  spirit 
that  scorns  dependence  upon  any  man.  He  only 
looks  the  whole  world  in  the  face,  who  owes  no  man 
a  cent. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
USURY  ENSLAVES  THE  BORROWER. 

Timon  of  Athens  said,  "No  usurer,  but  has  a  fool 
for  a  slave." 

The  borrower  without  usury  loses  his  free  and  inde- 
pendent spirit  and  becomes  cringing'  and  servile,  but 
when  interest  is  paid  it  increases  the  severity  of  the 
servile  service. 

The  lackey  must  not  only  care  for  the  game  taken, 
but  he  must  add  to  the  bag  from  his  own  hunting. 
He  not  only  cares  for  the  fish  his  master  caught  but 
must  add  to  the  basket  from  his  own  catching.  The 
valet  must  not  only  perfectly  preserve  the  clothes  of 
his  master,  but  must  add  to  his  wardrobe. 

The  borrower  of  the  usurer  must  protect  and  pre- 
serve every  farthing  in  value  of  the  property  or 
goods,  and  must  also  increase  the  amount. 

The  estimate  put  upon  the  mental  condition  of  the 
person  who  will  submit  to  such  an  imposition,  by 
"Timon  of  Athens,"  must  be  admitted  as  fairly  just, 
for  a  heathen.  From  the  almost  universal  practice 
of  usury,  and  the  vast  numbers  enslaved,  we  must 
also  admit  that  Solomon,  the  wisest  man  that  ever 
lived,  knew  what  he  was  saying,  when  he  slyly  called 
us  all  fools  in  his  proverb,  "A  wise  man's  heart  is  at 
his  right  hand  but  a  fool's  heart  is  at  his  left." 

146 


Usury  Enslaves  the  Borrower.  147 

The  object  of  the  usurer  in  making  a  loan  is  to 
secure  the  service  of  the  borrower ;  it  may  be  called  a 
favor,  an  opportunity,  an  accommodation,  but  that 
is  its  purpose  and  its  effect.  It  may  be  called  capital  or 
a  tool  for  production,  but  the  appropriation  of  the 
service  of  the  borrower  is  the  result  sought  and 
secured. 

To  secure  the  service  of  a  horse,  there  must  be  an 
outgo  of  wealth  in  its  purchase  price  and  in  its  harness 
and  the  vehicle.  The  service  received  is  the  return, 
the  compensation  for  the  payment  made.  That  is 
money  invested  and  repaid  in  service.  The  price  was 
in  accordance  with  the  service  the  animal  would  be 
able  to  render.  For  more  and  better  service  a  higher 
price  must  be  paid. 

There  must  be  an  expenditure  to  secure  the  service 
of  a  chattel  slave.  The  purchase  price  must  be  paid 
and  the  tools  and  material  or  plantation  must  be 
supplied  before  his  services  are  available.  The  price 
paid  is  in  accordance  with  a  reasonable  estimate  of 
the  service  the  slave  will  be  able  to  render  during  life. 
The  outlay  is  made  in  consideration  of  an  equivalent 
in  service. 

A  loan  is  made  for  the  same  purpose  and  secures 
the  same  result.  The  price  of  the  horse  or  slave  must 
be  paid  before  the  service  can  be  claimed.  The  loan 
must  be  made  before  there  can  be  a  pretext  of  a  claim 
upon  the  services  of  the  borrower. 

There  is  this    difference,  however,  that    the  pur- 


148      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

chaser  pays  for  the  services  he  expects  to  receive;  he 
makes  a  real  outlay  for  what  is  to  be  given  him.  The 
usurer  pays  nothing,  he  does  not  give  a  farthing;  he 
makes  no  outlay ;  he  merely  changes  the  deposit  from 
the  bank  vault,  or  his  strong  box,  to  his  victim,  and 
requires  from  him  such  an  ample  security  that  it  is 
as  safe  in  his  hands  as  remaining  in  the  vault.  That 
he  has  bought  the  service  of  the  borrower  as  another 
bought  the  service  of  the  horse  or  chattel  slave  is 
untrue.  He  has  given  no  equivalent.  He  retains 
every  farthing  of  his  wealth  safely  deposited  with  his 
victim.  The  service  he  receives  does  not  diminish  the 
value  of  his  property  nor  discharge  any  portion  of  his 
claim. 

The  usurer,  like  all  those  who  appropriate  the 
labors  of  their  slaves,  claims  that  he  is  a  real  benefit 
to  his  borrower.  He  has  given  him  an  opportunity 
of  advancement  that  he  could  not  otherwise  have  had. 
He  points  to  him  possibly  with  some  degree  of  pride, 
especially  if  he  seems  greatly  prospered.  The  owner 
of  colored  slaves  pointed  to  his  well-fed  and  well- 
clothed  and  happy  people,  merry  in  their  cabins,  and 
made  a  claim  that  was  equally  plausible;  that  these 
people  are  far  better  off  and  far  happier  than  they 
could  be  in  freedom. 

Their  well-kept,  happy,  care-free  condition  did  not 
make  them  freemen.  They  were  slaves,  though  they 
may  have  been  happy.  They  were  slaves,  though 
they  preferred  bondage  to  being  their  own  masters. 


Usury  Enslaves  the  Borrower.  149 

The  usurer's  prosperous  victim  is  not  therefore  a 
freeman.  Though  he  should  prefer  debt  to  inde- 
pendence, that  does  not  make  him  free. 

No  one  prefers  to  be  in  debt.  Debts  are  chosen  as 
the  least  of  the  evils.  The  natural  resources  are  occu- 
pied and  the  opportunities  of  life  are  denied.  Lands 
and  all  tools  of  production  are  withheld  and  the 
horns  of  the  dilemma  are  debt  or  privation.  The 
independent  spirit  shrinks  from  debt  until  the  strug- 
gle of  life  becomes  desperate,  when  he  turns  to  the 
other  evil  and  is  enslaved. 

This  is  not  a  temptation  that  comes  to  the  idle  and 
vicious.  They  could  not  secure  a  loan  though  they 
tried.  An  indolent,  dissipated  and  vicious  chattel 
slave  would  not  find  a  purchaser  in  the  market. 

It  is  the  industrious,  virtuous  and  economical 
young  man  that  is  of  value  to  the  usurer,  and  the 
better  his  character,  the  greater  his  worth.  For  this 
reason  their  virtues  are  cried  up  to  the  usurers,  as  the 
favorable  qualities  of  the  chattel  were  presented  in 
the  slave  marts.  To  secure  a  loan  is  an  evidence  of 
confidence  in  his  business  ability,  and  an  evidence  of 
the  appreciation  of  his  character.  It  is  a  flattering 
compliment,  and  promising  relief  to  a  condition  that 
seems  hopeless,  he  permits  the  yoke  of  bondage  to 
be  fastened  upon  him. 

The  usurer's  slave  is  cheaper  than  the  chattel.  It 
requires  less  wealth  to  secure  an  equal  amount  of 
service.  A  loan  of  five  thousand  dollars  at  the  pre- 


150      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

vailing  rate  of  seven  per  cent,  will  bring  to  the  usurer 
more  than  one  dollar,  clear  gain,  for  every  working 
day.  That  is  as  much  as  any  one  man,  not  profes- 
sional or  specially  skilled,  can  hope  to  produce  with 
that  amount  of  capital,  after  caring  for  himself  and 
his  home.  The  borrower  secures  the  lender  from  all 
loss,  he  largely  relieves  him  from  oversight,  he  directs 
his  own  labors,  supports  himself  wholly;  if  sick,  he 
supplies  a  substitute  that  the  service  does  not  stop, 
and  when  from  the  infirmities  of  age  he  is  no  longer 
able  to  give  the  required  amount  of  service,  one  dollar 
per  day,  he  returns  the  loan  in  full,  which  may  be 
bound  upon  another  victim,  and  thus  continued  for- 
ever. 

In  the  days  of  chattel  slavery  labor  was  not  so  cheap. 
The  price  of  a  strong,  faithful  young  colored  slave, 
and  the  value  of  the  tools  for  him  to  use,  and  the  pro- 
portionate part  of  the  plantation  necessary  for  him  to 
work,  was  about  equal  to  the  above  loan.  Then  he 
must  be  clothed  and  fed ;  his  work  must  be  directed ; 
if  sick  his  labor  was  lost,  and  he  must  receive  medical 
and  other  care;  all  risks  of  harvest  from  drouth  or 
flood  must  be  incurred  by  the  owner,  and  the  slave's 
term  of  service  was  limited  by  his  death,  when  his 
purchase  cost  was  lost,  and  there  must  be  an  outlay 
by  a  new  purchase.  One  chattel  slave  could  not 
bring  his  master  such  enormous  returns. 

Not  only  does  financial  slavery  exact  more  labor 
for  the  amount  invested,  but  it  is  more  heartless  than 


Usury  Enslaves  the  Borrower.  151 

chattel  bondage.  The  master  had  a  personal  interest 
in  the  slave  he  bought.  His  health  and  strength  was 
an  object  of  his  care  and  his  death  a  great  loss.  There 
was  also  often  a  mutual  affection  developed,  as  is 
sometimes  found  between  a  man  and  his  horse  or 
affectionate  dog.  There  was  sometimes  real 
unfeigned  mutual  love.  The  master  had  a  tender 
care  over  his  slaves  in  their  sicknesses  and  in  their 
decrepit  age,  and  sorrowed  at  their  graves.  The 
slaves  were  inconsolable  in  their  grief  at  the  death  of 
their  master. 

The  usurer  has  no  personal  interest  in  his  slave. 
He  has  no  care  for  his  health  or  his  life;  they  are  of 
no  interest  to  him.  He  may  live  in  a  distant  state 
and  has  no  anxiety  about  those  who  serve  him. 
Their  personal  ills  give  him  no  concern.  When  they 
die,  there  is  no  loss  nor  any  additional  outlay 
required;  the  bonds  are  simply  transferred  to  others, 
and  the  service  is  not  interrupted. 

Many  faithful,  industrial  and  honest  borrowers  are 
unable  to  return  the  loan.  It  is  as  difficult  to  retain 
property  as  it  is  to  earn  it.  New  inventions,  new 
processes,  new  methods,  new  legislation  and  the 
changing  fashions  and  customs,  often  sweep  property 
from  the  shrewd  and  careful.  "Riches  make  them- 
selves wings;  they  fly  away."  If  for  any  cause  the 
borrower  fails  there  is  scant  sympathy  from  the 
usurer.  He  charges  him  with  being  deficient  in 
business  management  and  thriftless.  If  the  yoke  of 


152      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

bondage  galls  and  becomes  so  painful  that  in  his  dis- 
tress the  debtor  turns  from  the  struggle  in  one 
direction  to  struggle  in  another  in  hope  of  relief, 
he  calls  him  fickle;  and  if  at  last,  after  a  long 
and  hard  service,  he  is  unable  to  return  the  loan  in 
full,  he  calls  him  dishonest.  His  ear  is  deaf  to  the 
voice,  "Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen?  to 
loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the  heavy 
burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free." 

There  are  those  in  debt  yet  struggling  against  hope 
to  be  free.  They  are  slaving  at  work,  but  making  no 
progress  toward  relief.  The  crisis  must  come.  In 
the  race  with  biting  usury  that  knows  no  rest,  night 
nor  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  that  knows  no  sickness 
nor  delay,  that  keeps  step  with  time,  there  is  but  one 
possible  result.  There  can  be  but  one  final  result, 
though  the  debtor  may  have  a  start  far  in  advance, 
but  if  in  the  race  it  has  become  neck  and  neck,  the  end 
is  near.  Usury  will  sweep  on  with  full  wind,  and 
unslacking  pace,  when  the  debtor  falls  exhausted. 
There  is  comfort,  however,  though  the  race  be  lost, 
for  the  distress  of  poverty  is  less  than  the  agony  of 
hopeless  debt. 

The  old  and  ruined,  who  have  lived  honorable  and 
industrious  lives,  who  have  endeavored  to  do  their 
part  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  yet  have  been  in  the 
slavery  of  debt  all  their  days,  and  when  their  powers 
began  to  fail  were  stripped  of  the  earnings  of  years, 
and  besides,  are  compelled  to  bear  the  name  of  dis- 


Usury  Enslaves  the  Borrower.  153 

honorable  debtors,  are  the  most  worthy  of  sympathy 
of  any  the  world  knows.  The  decrepit  old  chattel 
slave  had  hope  of  a  home  until  the  end,  and  a  decent 
burial,  but  the  debtor  has  nothing,  not  even  an  hon- 
orable name. 

The  young,  who  are  yet  free  from  personal  debt,, 
should  be  warned,  and  should  not  permit  themselves 
to  be  beguiled  by  any  of  the  allurements  held  out,  nor 
by  flatteries.  As  one  prizes  his  independent  spirit 
and  freedom  from  the  dictation  of  others,  as  he 
desires  a  successful  life  and  a  peaceful  old  age,  he 
should  avoid  debt.  As  a  Christian,  who  desires  unre- 
strained Christian  fellowship,  whose  benevolence  will 
be  from  the  kindness  and  love  of  his  own  heart,  as 
one  who  wishes  to  bless  all  he  meets,  and  to  leave  a 
name  associated  only  with  hallowed  memories,  he 
should  avoid  debt. 

"Owe  no  man  anything,  but  love  one  another." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
USURY  OPPRESSES  THE  POOR. 

Moses,  Solomon  and  the  prophets  connect  usury 
with  the  oppression  of  the  poor.  For  this  reason 
many  have  thought  the  divine  prohibition  of  usury 
applied  only  to  loans  to  the  poor.  By  careful  atten- 
tion we  will  find  that  its  evils  are  not  confined  to  the 
immediate  participants  in  the  transaction.  In  the 
natural  operation  of  economic  laws  the  ultimate 
burden  rests  upon  the  poor.  It  is  clear  that  when  each 
member  of  a  community  contributes  his  portion  to 
the  common  welfare  the  burdens  are  equally  dis- 
tributed. When  any  one  fails  to  contribute  his  pro- 
portion the  burdens  are  made  heavier  for  the  other 
members,  and  the  burdens  increase  as  the  number 
increases  of  those  who  for  any  cause  fail  to  contribute 
their  part. 

This  is  true  in  the  family  home  life.  When  every 
member  of  the  household  is  able,  and  with  cheerful 
willingness  does  his  full  part  for  the  family  support 
and  comfort,  the  burden  is  equally  distributed.  Let 
one  member  of  the  family  be  in  any  way  disabled  and 
his  duties  must  be  performed  by  others.  If  several 
are  disabled  the  burdens  upon  the  others  may  be 
greatly  increased.  If  any  are  indolent  the  burdens 

are  made  heavy  upon  those  who  are  industrious. 
154 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  155 

The  same  is  true  in  the  larger  family,  the  com- 
munity and  the  state,  for  political  economy  is  but 
enlarged  home  economy.  The  burdens  are  lightest 
when  every  one  contributes  his  full  share  to  the  gen- 
eral welfare.  When  any  are  idle  the  duties  become 
heavier  upon  those  who  are  faithful. 

Usury  makes  it  possible  for  many  to  live  upon 
incomes  from  their  property.  They  are  not  classed, 
nor  do  they  class  themselves,  among  those  who  are 
personally  productive.  This  makes  it  necessary  for 
the  poor,  those  who  have  no  property,  to  produce 
more  in  order  to  house  and  clothe  and  feed  the  com- 
munity. 

But  those  non-productive  persons  are  consumers 
and  are  the  most  active  consumers.  They  make 
heavy  drafts  upon  the  energies  of  others.  They 
become  extravagant  in  their  habits  and  the  spend- 
thrifts of  the  world;  while  in  proportion  to  their 
extravagant  habits  there  must  be  severity  and  sim- 
plicity in  the  habits  of  the  industrious  and  productive, 
on  whom  the  support  of  the  community  rests. 

The  world  does  not  grow  richer  nor  are  the  con- 
ditions of  life  for  one  class  eased  by  the  extravagance 
of  another  class. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  idleness  and  the  waste- 
ful habits  of  some  are  for  the  benefit  of  others  because 
they  make  a  demand  for  more  work.  It  would  give 
the  lumberman  and  nail-cutter  and  carpenter  and 
glazier  and  plasterer  and  painter  more  work  to  call 


156      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

back  the  fire  department  and  let  the  house  burn,  but 
that  is  not  the  way  to  house  the  houseless.  Extrava- 
gance is  wasteful  destruction  of  property. 

"It  is  insisted  upon  both  moral  and  economic 
grounds  that  no  public  benefit  of  any  kind  arises  from 
the  existence  of  a  rich  idle  class.  Their  incomes  must 
be  paid,  though  inconsistent  with  the  public  good. 
To  illustrate,  the  London  and  Southwestern  railroad 
contemplated  a  reduction  of  fares  in  cars  of  the  third- 
class.  It  was  defeated  because  it  might  reduce  the 
dividends.  The  poor  could  not  be  relieved  lest  it 
should  reduce  the  incomes  of  the  idle." — Ruskin. 

That  family  is  happy  and  prosperous  in  which 
every  member  contributes  personally  his  portion  to 
its  support  and  comfort.  That  condition  affords  the 
highest  measure  of  relief  for  all.  It  is  unfortunate  if 
there  should  be  an  idler  in  the  home  who,  as  a  para- 
site, feeds  on  the  industry  of  the  others ;  it  is  a  double 
misfortune  if  that  idler  proves  a  spendthrift  to  waste 
the  thrifty  gatherings  of  the  diligent.  The  same 
economic  principles  make  it  necessary  for  the  highest 
good  of  every  individual  in  the  community  that  each 
shall  contribute  his  personal  part.  "If  any  will  not 
work  neither  shall  he  eat."  If  any  insist  upon  eating 
and  yet  will  not  work,  it  imposes  an  oppressive  bur- 
den on  others  to  compel  them  to  supply  his  table. 

Again:  The  limiting  of  production  is  a  hardness 
to  the  poor.  Their  welfare  requires  the  largest  pos- 
sible product  along  every  line  of  human  needs.  Over- 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  157 

production  is  a  term  of  the  trade  and  means  only 
that  the  supply  has  become  so  great  that  it  cannot  be 
sold  at  prices  satisfactory  to  the  trade.  But  as  the 
prices  fall  the  market  broadens.  Consumption  in- 
creases with  the  increasing  abundance,  and  that 
which  it  was  not  possible  for  certain  classes  to  enjoy 
now  comes  within  their  reach  and  may  become  pos- 
sible to  even  the  poorest.  There  never  can  be  an 
over-supply  of  fruits  and  vegetables  and  grains  and 
meats  and  shoes  and  clothes  and  salt  and  oil  and  fuel 
and  houses  until  the  wants  of  the  poorest  are  supplied. 
Their  welfare  requires  that  there  shall  be  no  restrain- 
ing of  the  supply  until  they  come  out  of  their  huts 
into  houses ;  until  they  can  shed  their  rags  and  dress 
in  clothes  both  comfortable  and  attractive ;  until  their 
tables  are  supplied  with  nutritious  food;  until  they 
have  the  means  of  discovering  and  cultivating  their 
aesthetic  nature  by  shaking  off  the  repellant  con- 
ditions in  which  they  are  mostly  compelled  to  live. 

The  practice  of  usury  restrains  the  supply  by  free- 
ing so  large  a  part  of  the  people  from  the  necessity  of 
active  productive  effort  by  the  incomes  from  their 
properties.  Many  born  to  wealth  have  never  felt  the 
necessity,  and  have  never  made  an  effort  nor  turned 
a  thought  along  productive  lines.  The  world  has  lost 
all  that  they  might  have  added  to  the  world's  supply 
for  human  needs.  Many,  who  have  been  successful 
in  accumulation  early  in  life,  retire  from  active  work 
while  yet  in  full  vigor,  because  they  are  relieved  of 


158     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

the  necessity  by  the  income  of  usury  or  increase,  and 
the  most  valuable  portion  of  their  lives  is  lost  to  the 
world. 

Production  is  further  limited  by  the  demand  that 
it  shall  yield  an  increase  on  the  property  employed. 
The  shop  is  shut  down  when  the  goods  cannot  be 
sold  at  such  a  price  as  to  pay  a  satisfactory  profit  on 
the  investment.  The  shop  stands  idle  until  the  stock 
is  depleted  and  the  demand  raises  the  price  of  the 
goods  and  then  the  shop  is  again  opened.  The 
workmen  could  go  on  with  their  work,  supplying  the 
world  with  their  goods,  bringing  the  price  down  until 
within  the  reach  of  the  poorest,  but  it  is  the  owner 
of  the  shop  that  holds  the  key  and  demands  that  the 
supply  shall  be  so  far  restrained  that  the  price  shall 
yield  a  satisfactory  increase  on  the  property. 

Inventions  and  improved  tools  are  a  blessing  to 
the  poor  when  they  make  labor  so  productive  that 
they  can  enjoy  results  of  labor  that  could  not  be 
enjoyed  by  them  before.  They  are  not  a  blessing 
when  used  to  gain  an  increase  on  wealth  by  employ- 
ing less  labor.  Their  proper  use  is  to  make  labor 
more  productive;  their  perverted  use  is  to  make 
property  more  profitable. 

There  is  a  natural  restraint  by  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand  when  all  needs  are  so  supplied  that  there 
is  no  longer  a  sufficient  compensation  to  the  pro- 
ducer ;  but  it  is  a  perverted  and  unrighteous  restraint 
to  place  property  between  productive  labor  and 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  159 

human  needs  and  demand  a  reward  for  it  before  these 
human  needs  shall  be  satisfied.  There  is  an  utter 
want  of  pity  for  the  poor  in  permitting  them  to  go 
unhoused,  unfed  and  unclothed,  unless  there  shall  be 
a  profit  by  increase  in  supplying  their  wants.  True 
benevolence  requires  that  labor  shall  be  made  so 
effective  as  to  fill  every  human  need,  but  pure  selfish- 
ness uses  property  to  supply  the  need  for  a  gain. 
This  restraint  for  an  increase  on  property  is  oppres- 
sion of  the  poor  for  a  price. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
USURY  OPPRESSES  THE  POOR— Continued. 

The  influence  of  any  act  is  not  limited  to  the  person 
acting.  The  righteous  act  of  a  righteous  man 
blesses  himself  and  his  generation  and  generations 
yet  unborn.  So  the  influence  of  a  wrong  act  is  not 
limited  to  the  wrong-doer,  but  extends  to  others  and 
is  harmful  to  those  who  had  no  voluntary  part  in  the 
act.  Though  the  wrong  be  a  personal  habit  and  the 
sinner  be  himself  the  greatest  sufferer,  yet  it  is  impos- 
sible to  avoid  causing  distress  to  others  who  are 
themselves  innocent. 

Equity  between  those  who  participate  in  a  wrong 
does  not  make  a  wrong  act  righteous.  Thieves  may 
be  just  among  themselves,  in  the  division  of  the  spoils 
secured  from  others,  but  that  does  not  make  them 
upright  men,  nor  does  it  make  their  business  honest. 
If  it  were  possible  to  preserve  equity  between  the  bor- 
rower and  the  lender  upon  usury,  yet  that  would 
not  justify  the  act  nor  remove  the  evil.  The  collec- 
tion of  their  profits,  which  they  divide  equitably 
among  themselves,  imposes  a  burden  upon  others 
who  have  no  part  in  the  transaction.  Their  satisfac- 
tory agreement  does  not  make  the  transaction  less 
detrimental  to  the  general  good.  It  may  the  rather 
partake  of  the  nature  of  a  conspiracy  against  the 
public  welfare. 

160 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  161 

The  promoter  of  an  enterprise  on  borrowed  capital 
is  practically  but  the  agent  of  the  lender.  He  may 
be  the  director  and  manager  but  he  so  conducts  his 
undertaking  as  to  gather  the  usury  from  others. 
When  the  opportunities  for  profitable  investments 
become  rare,  and  money  accumulates  and  is  lying 
idle,  such  promoters  with  their  schemes  are  encour- 
aged in  order  to  gain  a  profit  on  the  investment, 
though  others  suffer  by  it. 

There  lies  upon  this  table  a  booklet,  written  in 
1841,  which  charges  and  proves  complicity  between 
the  bankers  and  brokers  of  New  York  at  that  time. 
The  bankers  loaned  the  brokers  the  money  which 
they  reloaned  at  very  high  rates.  The  banks  refused 
accommodations  to  those  in  pressing  need,  compell- 
ing them  to  go  to  the  brokers  and  to  submit  to  their 
extortionate  demands. 

Though  there  may  be  an  equitable  arrangement 
between  the  owner  of  property  and  his  broker  and 
between  the  broker  and  his  promoter,  yet  in  the  last 
analysis  it  will  be  found  that  this  equitable  arrange- 
ment, in  its  ultimate  result,  is  of  the  nature  of  a  con- 
spiracy to  compel  the  innocent  poor  to  pay  the  profits 
of  both;  their  consent  is  not  first  secured  nor  do 
they  gain  a  single  advantage  and  they  are  helpless  to 
resist. 

Though  the  transaction  may  have  been  between 
the  rich,  a  rich  lender  and  a  rich  borrower,  yet  the 
final  result  is  that  the  interest  is  paid  by  the  poor.  In 


162      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Calvin's  letter  of  apology  he  supposes  a  case  of  equity 
between  a  rich  land  owner  who  is  in  need  of  ready 
money  and  the  man  who  has  money  to  buy  a  farm, 
but  instead  lends  to  his  rich  landlord  and  takes^a 
mortgage.  In  this  case  the  tenants  of  the  borrower 
must  pay  the  interest  and  finally  the  principal  also. 
This  increases  the  hardness  of  their  hard  lot.  Though 
Calvin  seems  to  appreciate  the  severe  conditions  of 
the  ordinary  tenant  in  his  day,  yet  he  fails  to  recog- 
nize that  the  very  illustration  he  gives  would  result 
in  greater  oppression. 

When  one  entrusts  his  money  to  a  broker  for 
investment  he  does  not  come  in  contact  with  those 
who  earn  the  interest.  It  may  pass  through  a  number 
of  agents  and  the  source  from  which  the  interest  is 
drawn  is  not  regarded.  When  one  entrusts  his 
money  to  the  "Security  Co."  in  their  great  building, 
surrounded  by  all  appearances  of  unlimited  wealth, 
it  is  not  realized  that  the  interest  returned  is  wrung 
from  the  poor.  Money  does  not  lie  in  the  vaults.  It 
is  loaned  to  others  who  as  agents  do  collect  or  gather 
from  the  poor.  A  loan  is  made  to  a  milling  company 
and  the  interest  is  gathered  from  all  who  buy  their 
flour.  A  loan  is  made  to  a  landlord  and  he  collects 
the  usury  from  his  tenants.  A  loan  is  made  to  a  street 
car  company  and  increase  is  collected  from  the 
employes  and  from  every  rider.  A  loan  is  made  to 
a  merchant  and  he  collects  from  his  customers. 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  163 

It  is  easy  to  see  who  pay  the  interest  when  we  make 
a  common  pawnbroker  our  agent  and  see  in  his  dingy 
rooms  the  evident  distress  and  needs  of  his  callers. 
Many  shrink  from  his  oppressions  who  are  deceived 
by  the  splendid  surroundings  of  the  "Security  Co." 
But  the  interest  is  exacted  from  the  same  class  as 
truly  by  one  as  by  the  other. 

Usury  oppresses  the  poor  by  raising  the  price  of  all 
that  he  consumes.  Without  being  consulted  and 
without  the  power  of  resistance  he  must  pay  tribute 
to  property  for  the  very  necessities  of  life. 

He  lives  in  a  rented  house.  The  owner  has  placed 
a  mortgage  on  this  house  and  the  tenant  must  pay 
the  interest  and  more  in  his  rental  or  be  ejected.  The 
bread  he  must  have  is  from  wheat  raised  on  mort- 
gaged land  and  the  interest  must  be  met  in  the  price 
of  wheat.  The  mill  is  mortgaged  in  which  it  is 
ground  and  the  interest  must  be  paid  in  the  increased 
price  of  flour.  The  railroad  is  bonded  and  the  inter- 
est on  the  bonds  must  be  paid  in  the  price  of  its  trans- 
portation, and  the  merchant  has  a  loan  to  enable  him 
to  do  business  and  the  interest  on  this  loan  must  be 
met  in  the  increase  of  the  profits  on  flour  and  all  other 
goods  he  handles.  By  usury  a  tribute  is  levied  on  his 
bread  from  the  wheat  in  the  field  until  it  reaches  his 
tables. 

In  the  same  way  he  pays  interest  in  the  price  of  his 
meat,  which  is  raised  on  a  mortgaged  farm,  trans- 
ported over  a  bonded  railroad,  dressed  in  a  mort- 


164      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

gaged  abattoir  and  sold  by  a  dealer  doing  business  on 
borrowed  capital. 

The  same  is  true  of  his  clothes ;  a  first  tribute  must 
be  paid  to  property  by  the  raw  cotton  or  wool,  then 
the  transportation  and  the  factory  and  the  merchant, 
in  addition  to  the  compensation  for  their  services, 
must  meet  also  the  interest  upon  their  loans,  and  the 
whole  is  summed  up  in  the  price  the  poor  man  must 
pay.  He  has  no  option  in  the  matter;  he  has  no 
alternative,  no  method  by  which  he  can  escape.  The 
same  is  true  with  regard  to  his  fuel  and  his  light. 

The  same  is  true  with  regard  to  car  fares.  In  every 
ride  he  pays  an  enormous  tribute  to  .invested  wealth. 
The  writer  made  a  careful  estimate  of  the  accounts  of 
a  car  line  in  a  small  city  where  the  number  of  riders 
bore  small  comparison  with  the  crowded  cars  of  any 
metropolis.  When  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the 
plant,  including  the  wear  and  tear  and  all  repairs,  and 
the  cost  of  operation,  covering  all  current  expenses, 
including  taxes,  were  compared  with  the  receipts 
from  the  patrons  of  the  road,  it  was  found  that  less 
than  two  cents  per  passenger  was  necessary  to  pay 
these  charges  and  that  three  cents  had  gone  to  pay 
the  interest  on  the  enormous  bonded  indebtedness 
and  dividends  on  the  inflated  stock. 

The  wage-earner,  the  pensioner  and  every  person 
living  upon  an  annuity  or  fixed  income  from  any 
source,  must  thus  pay  usury  or  interest  on  obligations 
they  never  incurred.  A  large  portion  of  their  living 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  165 

is  thus  taken  from  them,  and  under  a  system  of  gen- 
eral usury  they  have  no  way  of  avoiding  it.  They 
must  pay  an  enormous  tribute  to  property  in  pro- 
viding the  common  necessaries  of  life. 

Usury  lowers  the  poor  man's  wages.  The  owners 
of  property  forbid  its  use  until  such  a  concession  is 
made  by  the  laborer  as  they  may  demand  for  the 
material  and  tools  of  production.  Those  who  will 
use  them  and  give  the  owner  the  highest  return  for 
their  use  secure  the  work,  i.  e.,  those  who  will  bid 
the  labor  the  lowest,  who  will  use  the  tools  and  work 
up  the  material  the  cheapest. 

The  demand  of  capital  has  come  to  absorb  a  large 
portion  of  the  produce  of  labor.  In  1890  the  wage- 
earners  created  a  value  of  $3,579,168,172  and 
received  out  of  it  wages  amounting  to  $1,981,228,- 
321,  leaving  in  the  hands  of  the  employers  $1,687,- 
939,851.  Labor  thus  received  a  little  less  than  53 
per  cent,  of  its  product.  In  1900  the  wage-earners 
created  a  value  of  $4,640,784,931  and  received  out 
of  it  wages  amounting  to  $2,323,407,257,  leaving  in 
the  hands  of  employers  $2,317,377,674.  The 
employers  and  employes  divided  labor's  product  so 
evenly  that  the  difference  does  not  amount  to  one- 
eighth  of  one  per  cent. 

The  decade  1890  to  1900  has  been  of  unprece- 
dented prosperity  to  capital,  but  the  advantages  to 
labor  have  not  appeared.  When  the  number  of  labor- 
ers at  the  beginning  and  the  close  of  the  decade  are 


166      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

considered  the  annual  income  of  the  wage-earner  at 
the  close  of  the  decade  is  actually  $7  per  year  less 
than  ten  years  ago. 

The  tribute  to  property  must  first  be  gained,  the 
wages  are  secondary.  If  the  tribute  is  not  paid  the 
enterprise  is  regarded  as  not  successful  and  the 
industry  closes. 

There  is  no  protection  for  the  laborer  except  the 
selfishness  of  capitalists  themselves  in  competition  to 
secure  the  services  of  labor.  But  the  selfish  strife  has 
rather  resulted  in  the  combination  of  their  capital  to 
dispense  with  labor  or  to  cause  the  same  labor  to 
produce  more  by  the  employment  of  more  capital. 
The  effect  is  to  give  employment  to  capital  rather 
than  to  labor.  If  labor  can  be  dispensed  with  by 
borrowing  more  capital,  then  a  loan  is  secured  and 
the  laborer  is  dismissed.  Thus  capital  is  made  to 
crowd  out  the  laborer  and  gains  for  itself  his  reward. 
This  diminishes  the  call  for  labor  and  increases  the 
number  of  the  unemployed  and  they  become  com- 
petitors for  the  privilege  of  working.  The  oppor- 
tunities for  labor  becoming  fewer,  the  strife  for  work 
becomes  fiercer.  The  laborer  is  helpless  to  resist,  as 
his  wants  do  not  stop;  his  family  must  be  fed  and 
clothed  and  housed.  The  struggle  is  unequal  between 
"flesh  and  blood"  and  a  material  thing  that,  by  a  false 
economy,  is  given  not  only  the  power  of  self-support 
but  also  continuous  increase.  For  this  reason  com- 
binations of  laborers  never  have  been  and  never  can 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  167 

be  successful  in  a  conflict  with  capital.  So  long  as  the 
false  principle  is  admitted,  all  efforts  must  fail.  So 
long  as  it  is  granted  that  property  has  earning  power, 
the  effort  will  be  made  by  the  owners  of  property, 
and  always  successfully  made,  to  have  property 
receive  the  larger  portion  of  the  reward.  The  true 
order  will  be  reversed;  the  laborer  will  be  given  a 
mere  subsistence  while  the  increase  will  be  claimed 
for  the  capital;  the  very  opposite  of  the  true  order, 
the  mere  preservation  or  subsistence  of  the  capital, 
while  all  the  increase  belongs  to  the  laborers. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
USURY  OPPRESSES  THE  POOR-Continued. 

Usury  makes  it  possible  to  impose  on  the  poor  the 
principal  burden  of  taxation.  Though  taxes  are 
levied  upon  property  it  is  a  delusion  to  think  that 
those  who  own  no  property  pay  no  taxes.  By  usury 
the  taxes  are  easily  slipped  upon  the  poor. 

If  the  tax  levy  is  one  per  cent,  on  property  then  in 
a  year  the  one  hundred  dollars  has  been  decreased  by 
one  dollar  and  is  but  ninety-nine,  unless  that  dollar 
has  been  supplied  from  other  earnings  of  the  owner. 
Thus  vacant  lots,  jewels  and  hoarded  stores  are  a  bur- 
den to  their  owner.  But  when  the  property  can  add 
to  itself  an  increase,  then  there  need  be  no  diminution 
of  the  amount,  and  no  sacrifice  is  necessary  on  the 
part  of  the  owner.  If  the  wealth  is  placed  in  the  form 
of  a  loan  on  mortgage  on  a  house,  the  tenant  in  his 
rental  pays  the  interest  on  that  mortgage,  which 
meets  the  tax  and  also  yields  a  revenue  to  the  owner, 
and  leaves  the  wealth  undiminished.  The  tenant 
earned  the  tax,  and  both  property  and  owner  are 
relieved.  The  mortgage  may  be  upon  a  manufactur- 
ing plant,  when  the  operatives  pay  the  tax  from  their 
earnings. 

The  bonded  debt  of  a  city  or  state,  in  the  ultimate 
result,  is  collected  from  the  productive  labor.  To 

168 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  169 

pay  the  interest  and  principal  of  the  bonded  debt  of 
a  city  the  tax  levy  is  increased,  and  a  greater  propor- 
tionate amount  of  labor  is  appropriated.  Laboring 
people  without  property  are  often  amazed  at  the 
indifference  of  property  holders  when  a  great  bonded 
debt  is  incurred,  as  both  interest  and  principal  are  to 
be  paid  by  a  tax  upon  property.  Those  who  make 
the  loan  to  the  city,  and  all  who  hold  mortgages  and 
dividend  paying  properties,  are  complacent  because 
the  taxes  of  a  hundred  years  would  never  diminish 
their  property  a  dollar,  though  the  tax  levy  should  be 
doubled.  It  would  raise  the  interest  on  money, 
diminish  the  price  of  labor  and  raise  the  price  of 
goods,  but  those  who  profit  by  the  gain  of  usury  are 
untouched  by  it. 

Recently  complaints  were  made  by  the  tenants  of 
one  of  the  poor  districts  of  London  because  their 
rentals  had  been  greatly  increased.  The  reply  of  the 
landlord  was  direct  and  clear:  "You  have  voted  for 
public  improvements  and  now  you  must  pay  for 
them." 

The  same  is  true  of  the  interest  and  principal  of  the 
national  debt.  The  revenue  is  raised  from  a  levy 
upon  importations,  as,  for  example,  tea,  the  tax  on 
which  is  ten  cents  per  pound.  The  tax  is  collected 
from  the  importer  and  by  him  attached  to  the  price 
for  which  it  is  sold  to  the  wholesale  dealer  and  by  him 
attached  to  the  price  he  charges  the  retail  dealer  and 
by  him  the  amount  is  collected  from  the  consumer. 


170      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Sufficient  notice  is  usually  given  that  the  importer 
and  the  dealers  may  dispose  of  all  their  goods  before 
the  tariff  is  removed.  A  public  announcement  of 
such  a  purpose  was  recently  made  in  reference  to  the 
tax  upon  tea. 

The  tax  collected  from  the  consumer  is  far  heavier 
than  the  mere  levy  of  the  government.  The  importer 
demands  a  profit  on  the  amount  of  revenue  tax  he 
has  paid  as  well  as  on  the  amount  he  pays  for  the 
goods.  This  results  in  greatly  increasing  the  burdens 
of  the  poor.  The  revenue  tax  recently  imposed  by 
Great  Britain  of  three  pence  per  cwt.  on  wheat  and 
five  pence  per  cwt.  on  flour  resulted  immediately 
in  the  addition  of  one  penny  to  the  price  of  the  four- 
pound  loaf  to  the  consumers. 

Again :  This  attributing  to  property  the  quality  of 
self-perpetuation  and  increase  has  led  to  its  incor- 
poration and  in  a  manner  separation  from  those  who 
own  it.  Property  must  always  have  an  owner. 

Personality  must  always  come  in  else  there  are  no 
rights  to  be  considered.  Labor  apart  from  a  person 
laboring  and  property  apart  from  a  person  owning 
are  impersonal  and  no  ethical  or  moral  laws  can  be 
applied  to  them.  They  are  only  physical  forces  and 
material  things.  The  wind  may  push  against  a  tree 
and  overcome  its  resistance  and  the  tree  falls.  That 
is  merely  an  abstract  force  against  a  material  thing. 
But  when  my  energy  is  exerted  against  your  tree  and 
destroys  it,  then  personal  responsibility  and  personal 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor*  171 

rights  must  be  considered.  A  righteous  adjustment 
between  labor  and  capital  can  never  be  arrived  at 
without  the  consideration  of  the  personal  elements 
on  both  sides.  The  moral  and  ethical  laws  must  be 
applied  as  well  as  the  physical  and  economic. 

Incorporated  property,  however,  has  eliminated 
from  it  the  ethical  and  moral  responsibility  of  person- 
ality and  is  regarded  as  possessed  only  of  economic 
and  physical  qualities  and  restrained  only  by  legal 
statutes. 

Incorporated  properties  are  not  generally  managed 
by  those  who  own  them.  The  managers  are  employed 
by  the  owners,  who  are  ready  to  pay  large  compen- 
sation to  those  who  have  the  tact  and  brain  and  nerve 
power  and  peculiar  quality  of  conscience  to  gain  for 
them  a  satisfactory  increase.  It  is  their  work  to  press 
this  irresponsible  material  body  up  against  "flesh  and 
blood." 

The  incorporation  employs  the  laborer  when  his 
labor  earns  a  satisfactory  dividend  on  the  capital, 
and  lays  him  off  or  discharges  him  whenever  it  seems 
most  to  the  advantage  of  the  investment.  A  plant 
is  built  and  operated  for  a  time  and  then  the  plant  is 
closed,  or  the  location  is  changed  without  the  slight- 
est regard  to  the  sacrifices  of  the  poor  laborers  who 
have  gathered  around  and  are  left  stranded. 

Laborers  everywhere  throughout  Christendom 
need  and  beg  for  a  Sabbath  of  rest,  but  neither  phys- 


172      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

ical  needs  nor  conscientious  scruples  are  regarded 
when  a  greater  dividend  can  be  gained  in  seven  days 
than  in  six. 

On  the  part  of  the  workman,  resistance  is  useless. 
He  can  do  nothing  but  yield  to  the  economic  and 
physical  force  managed  by  those  in  whom  human 
sympathy  and  pity  for  the  suffering  and  helpless  are 
not  permitted.  The  dividend  must  be  gained  though 
it  be  necessary  to  grind  the  poor. 

The  owner  of  this  steel  plant  is  in  a  distant  city. 
All  employes,  from  the  manager  down  to  the  porter, 
must  so  serve  that  he  shall  receive  the  dividend.  This 
mercantile  house  is  owned  by  a  woman  on  a  pleas- 
ure trip  round  the  world.  All  who  are  connected 
with  this  business  must  so  serve  and  sacrifice  that  she 
shall  receive  her  income  regularly.  This  railroad  is 
owned  by  those  who  have  gone  a-yachting  in  south- 
ern seas.  It  must  be  so  managed  that  the  revenues 
shall  not  fail  whatever  the  sacrifice  required  of  others. 

The  writer  once  heard  an  American  statesman, 
who  afterward  became  President  of  the  United 
States,  deliver  an  elaborate  and  carefully  prepared 
oration  on  a  great  occasion,  in  which  he  discussed 
the  growing  power  and  controlling  influence  in  state 
and  national  affairs  of  incorporations.  He  did  not 
formulate  a  remedy  but  said,  "The  problem  to  be 
solved  by  the  next  generation  is,  how  shall  the  peo- 
ple be  protected  against  the  encroachments  of  incor- 
porated wealth?"  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  there 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  173 

was  no  discussion  of  that  question  during  the  cam- 
paign which  closed  with  his  election  to  the  presi- 
dency. 

Usury  is  both  the  basis  of  the  incorporation  and  the 
instrument  of  its  oppression.  Incorporated  wealth 
must  not  be  permitted  to  claim  personal  rights  and 
yet  escape  personal  responsibility.  It  must  be  held 
to  the  same  ethical  and  moral  laws  as  the  individual. 
Personal  responsibility  must  not  be  eliminated  from 
property.  It  must  not  be  divested  of  personal 
responsibility  and  then  pressed  as  a  mere  material 
thing  up  against  "flesh  and  blood." 

No  instrument  of  oppression  ever  surpassed  in 
severity  the  usury  of  incorporated  wealth  and  re- 
tained the  pretense  of  respectability.  It  is  sucking 
the  blood  of  the  poor  every  hour,  yet  they  cherish 
and  pet  the  vampire,  not  realizing  that  it  is  their 
blood  upon  which  it  feeds. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
USURY  OPPRESSES  THE  POOR— Concluded. 

Usury  increases  its  burdens  in  proportion  to  the 
poverty.  It  is  the  most  oppressive  upon  the  poorest. 
Property  in  any  measure  is  a  relief.  However  small 
the  amount  may  be,  to  that  degree  it  assists  in  bear- 
ing the  burden.  Those  who  have  a  home  are  relieved 
of  the  burden  of  usury  by  rent.  Those  who  own 
their  shops  or  farms  on  which  they  can  employ  their 
labor  are  relieved  of  the  usury  of  tools  and  material. 
From  the  conditions  now  prevailing  the  burden  of 
usury  rests  on  all  those,  the  half  of  whose  income  is 
the  product  of  their  own  labor.  The  one  who  re- 
ceives one-half  his  income  from  the  interest  on 
property  and  one-half  from  his  own  labor  has  no 
advantage  from  usury.  The  income  of  his  labor 
would  bring  him  as  many  of  the  comforts  of  life  as 
his  labor  now  does,  plus  the  income  from  his  property. 
There  is  no  advantage  until  a  greater  part  of  the 
income  is  derived  from  property.  A  small  savings 
account,  adding  a  few  dollars  annually  to  the  income, 
is  a  very  small  offset  to  the  constant  drain  from  usury 
in  all  that  we  buy  and  upon  all  our  earnings.  The 
full  burden  however  is  upon  those  who  have  nothing 
but  their  own  productive  energy;  who  receive  only 
174 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  175 

wages  and  must  buy  in  the  market.  As  the  relief 
afforded  by  property  decreases,  the  oppressive  burden 
of  usury  in  present  conditions  increases. 

It  is  a  fair  estimate  that  usury  is  oppressive  until 
relieved  by  the  income  from  property  to  the  amount 
of  one-half  of  the  entire  income  received.  When 
less,  the  oppression  begins  and  leans  its  full  weight 
and  without  pity  upon  the  poorest  and  most  help- 
less. 

He  that  has  no  property  is  dependent  upon  others 
for  employment  and  in  his  wages  must  give  a  part  of 
his  product  as  tribute  to  the  capital  he  uses.  This, 
in  the  case  of  the  average  wage  earner  in  this  country, 
is  not  less  than  one-third,  that  is,  he  who  earns  one 
dollar  and  a  half  will  receive  as  wages  one  dollar,  the 
other  half  dollar  is  retained  by  the  employer  as 
due  for  the  capital  invested.  Then  having  no  home 
he  must  pay  tribute  to  property  in  shelter  for  him- 
self and  family.  The  rent  will  be  higher  in  propor- 
tion to  the  poverty  of  the  apartments.  The  poorest 
tenement  returns  the  highest  rate  of  interest  to  the 
landlord. 

His  decreased  wages  do  not  make  the  necessities 
of  life  proportionately  cheap  to  him.  He  pays  usury 
in  the  price  of  the  fuel  which  he  burns,  of  the  oil,  gas 
or  electric  light  in  his  home.  In  the  price  of  vege- 
tables, bread  and  clothes  and  shoes.  There  is  an 
increased  outgo  at  every  turn  which  he  cannot  avoid. 
He  is  helpless  to  resist. 


176      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

He  can  but  struggle  staggering  along  while  work 
is  given  and  his  health  and  strength  remain.  When 
these  fail  he  falls  and  must  become  entangled  in  debt, 
from  which  there  is  no  hope  of  being  able  to  extricate 
himself. 

The  state  recognizes  the  hopelessness  of  the  poor 
man  who  is  in  debt  and  has  provided  a  relief  by 
bankruptcy,  by  which  he  may  again  arise  and  struggle 
on.  This  discharge  in  bankruptcy  is  an  act  of  mercy 
but  the  relief  from  the  oppressions  of  usury  would  be 
an  act  of  justice.  Grinding  the  helpless  poor  between 
low  wages  and  high  prices  and  then  relieving  them  by 
the  act  of  bankruptcy  is  only  pulling  them  out  of  the 
mill  to  throw  them  into  the  hopper  again,  for  the 
wage  earner  who  has  no  protection  from  any  pro- 
perty is  between  these  upper  and  nether  mill  stones. 

Those  who  defend  the  fraud  of  usury  always  take 
to  cover  behind  the  widow  and  the  fatherless.  They 
plausibly  pretend  to  be  zealous  for  their  protection 
while  endeavoring  to  hide  their  own  greed.  Their 
pleas  are  often  touchingly  pathetic.  "A  thrifty  lov- 
ing father  was  taken  away  by  death  from  a  dear  wife 
and  sweet  little  ones.  They  had  always  leaned  on 
his  strong  arms.  He  was  their  joy,  their  protector 
and  their  support.  This  widow  and  her  fatherless 
children  are  left  with  nothing  to  support  them  except 
the  saved  hard  earnings  of  this  husband's  life.  As 
these  earnings  are  their  only  support  they  are  deposi- 
ted with  care  with  the  'Security  Co.'  for  safety  and 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  177 

that  the  regular  interest  dues  may  be  received  without 
fail.  If  there  should  be  one  failure  they  would  suffer. 
The  'Security  Co.'  loan  their  deposits  as  opportunity 
offers.  They  take  some  local  mortgages  and  also 
some  mortgages  on  western  lands.  They  buy  some 
bonds  of  a  milling  trust  and  also  of  a  railroad  and 
street  car  line  and  some  national  bonds  and  loan  on 
personal  security  to  local  merchants  and  traders. 
From  all  these  sources  the  interest  is  regularly  col- 
lected and  regularly  paid  to  this  widowed  mother, 
without  which  she  and  her  little  fatherless  dear  ones 
must  suffer.  'Certainly/  they  say  'usury  is  not 
oppressive  to  the  widow  and  the  fatherless.  Usury 
comes  to  the  help  of  the  helpless/  ' 

Another  faithful  industrious  father  was  taken  away 
from  his  wife  and  his  little  ones.  He  had  been  their 
stay  and  support.  He  was  sober  and  thrifty  but 
sickness  and  untoward  conditions  made  accumula- 
tions impossible.  When  he,  the  head  of  the  home, 
was  taken  away  there  was  nothing  for  the  support 
of  these  helpless  little  ones  and  their  widowed  mother 
but  her  own  arms  and  head  and  heart.  There  was  no 
time  for  sentiment  and  tears.  These  little  ones  must 
be  sheltered  and  their  hungry  mouths  must  be  fed. 
Restraining  her  grief,  she  bravely  undertakes  the 
heavy  task. 

She  rents  a  room  but  the  rental  is  high,  for  the 
interest  must  be  paid  on  a  mortgage  held  by  the 
Security  Co.  She  finally  finds  a  shop  where  she 


178      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

secures  employment  but  the  wages  are  low,  for  the 
shop  is  heavily  mortgaged  to  the  Security  Co.  and 
the  interest  must  be  paid  or  the  shop  will  be  closed 
and  even  this  opportunity  for  scant  wages  will  be 
lost.  The  distance  requires  that  she  shall  ride  to  her 
work  but  the  round  trip  costs  two  nickels  and  one 
of  them  goes  to  the  Security  Co.  for  interest  on  their 
bonds  and  stock.  She  buys  a  loaf  of  bread  but  the 
wheat  was  raised  on  a  western  farm  mortgaged  to  the 
Security  Co.  and  the  interest  was  charged  up  against 
the  wheat.  The  wheat  was  floured  in  a  trust  mill  and 
the  interest  on  the  Security  Co.  bonds  were  charged 
up  against  the  flour.  It  was  transported  by  a  railroad 
that,  charged  up  against  it  the  interest  on  the  bonds 
held  by  the  Security  Co.  It  was  baked  in  a  mort- 
gaged oven  and  handled  by  a  local  dealer  doing 
business  on  capital  he  had  borrowed  of  the  Security 
Co.  How  much  of  her  bread  money  went  for  in- 
terests is  an  intricate  problem.  She  only  notices  that 
her  loaf  is  small. 

The  same  oppressive  tribute  must  be  paid  on  all 
that  she  buys  to  feed  and  clothe  herself  and  her  little 
ones. 

The  first  widow  does  not  live  upon  the  earnings  of 
her  husband.  They  are  untouched  at  the  end  of  a 
year  nor  diminished  as  the  years  pass.  By  the  opera- 
tion of  usury  she  has  lived  upon  the  hard  earnings  of 
this  poor  widow.  The  laborers  on  the  western  farms 
contributed  to  her  support  in  decreases  of  wages; 


Usury  Oppresses  the  Poor.  179 

the  operatives  of  the  railways,  the  workmen  in  the 
mill,  the  baker  and  merchant  all  contribute  a  por- 
tion, but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  heaviest  burden 
comes  upon  the  poorest.  The  rich  widow  has  fed 
her  children  with  the  bread  which  the  poor  widow 
earned. 

The  flaunting  sympathy  for  the  poor  of  those  who 
themselves  feed  upon  them,  is  rank  hypocracy.  Nor 
can  those  who  have  grown  fat  by  the  practice  of 
usury,  condone  the  crime  by  tossing  back  to  them  a 
portion  of  the  unjust  gain. 

"Is  it  such  a  fast  that  I  have  chosen?  A  day  for 
a  man  to  afflict  his  soul?  ...  Is  not  this  the  fast 
that  I  have  chosen?  ...  To  undo  the  heavy 
burdens  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free?  .  . 
Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that 
thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy  house?" 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

USURY  CENTRALIZES  WEALTH. 

The  dictum  of  Bacon  that  "Usury  gathers  the 
wealth  of  the  realm  into  few  hands"  is  readily  proven 
and  fully  verified  in  the  experience  of  these  times. 
The  tendency  to  centralization  under  a  system  of 
usury  or  interest-taking  is  so  strong,  and  the  modern 
result  so  apparent  that  the  statement  only  is 
necessary. 

Usury  not  only  enslaves  the  borrower  and  op- 
presses the  poor  who  are  innocent  of  all  debt,  but  it 
also  affects  the  rich  by  gathering  the  wealth  of  the 
wealthy  into  fewer  and  fewer  hands.  There  is  a 
centralizing  draft  that  threatens  and  then  finally 
absorbs  the  smaller  fortunes  into  one  colossal  finan- 
cial power.  It  is  as  futile  to  resist  this  as  to  resist 
fate.  Wealth  cannot  be  so  fortified  and  guarded  as 
to  successfully  resist  the  attack  of  superior  wealth 
when  the  practice  of  usury  is  permitted.  The  smaller 
and  weaker  fortune,  using  the  same  weapon  as  the 
larger  and  stronger,  must  inevitably  be  defeated  and 
overcome,  and  ultimately  absorbed. 

Rates  of  interest  do  not  affect  the  ultimate  result. 
Under  a  high  rate  the  gathering  is  rapid,  under  a 
low  rate  the  accretions  are  slower,  but  the  gathering 
into  few  hands  is  none  the  less  sure.  Rates  of  interest 

180 


Usury  Centralizes  Wealth.  181 

only  place  the  convergent  center  at  a  nearer  or  more 
remote  period. 

If  any  interest  is  right,  compound  interest  is  right. 
When  simple  interest  is  due  and  paid,  it  may  be 
loaned  to  another  party,  and  thus  the  usurer  secures 
interest  upon  his  interest,  though  not  from  the  same 
debtor.  When  the  interest  is  to  be  paid  annually,  it 
is  to  be  assumed,  if  not  paid,  that  the  debtor  takes  it 
as  a  loan  in  addition  to  the  face  of  the  note  of  his  obli- 
gation. This  saves  the  care  of  receiving  and  re-loan- 
ing to  another.  The  custom  of  usurers,  however,  is  to 
renew  the  note,  adding  the  interest  to  the  face,  if 
unpaid.  The  mass  of  bank  paper  is  renewed  each 
ninety  days:  Compounded  four  times  a  year, 
whether  to  the  same  or  to  another  debtor,  the  result 
in  accretion  is  the  same. 

Few  realize  the  rapidity  at  which  a  loan  increases, 
accelerating  in  geometrical  progression  as  time 
passes.  Any  loan  will  double  itself  at  three  per  cent, 
in  twenty-three  and  a  half  years ;  at  seven  per  cent,  in 
ten  and  a  fourth  years,  and  at  ten  per  cent,  in  seven 
and  a  third  years.  One  dollar  loaned  for  one  hundred 
years,  at  three  per  cent.,  would  amount  to  nineteen 
dollars ;  at  seven  per  cent,  one  thousand  dollars,  and 
at  ten  per  cent,  thirteen  thousand. 

The  island  upon  which  New  York  stands  was 
bought  from  the  Indians  for  the  value  of  twenty- 
four  dollars  by  Peter  Minuits  in  1626.  Yet,  if  the 
purchaser  had  put  his  twenty-four  dollars  at  interest, 


182      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

where  he  could  have  added  it  to  the  principal  at  the 
rate  of  seven  per  cent.,  the  accumulation  would  now 
exceed  the  total  value  of  the  entire  city  and  county  of 
New  York. 

M.  Jennet  quotes  the  elaborate  calculation  of  an 
ingenious  author  to  show  that  100  francs  ($20)  accu- 
mulating at  five  per  cent,  compound  interest  for  seven 
centuries,  would  be  sufficient  to  buy  the  whole  sur- 
face of  the  globe,  both  land  and  water,  at  the  rate  of 
1,000,000  francs  ($200,000)  per  hectare  (nearly  four 
square  miles).  From  this  we  can  gather  that  $20  at 
five  per  cent,  compound  interest  for  700  years,  would 
buy  all  the  earth,  mountains,  and  swamp  lands,  and 
water,  at  $80  per  acre. 

Another  mathematical  genius  says,  had  one  cent 
been  loaned  on  the  first  day  of  January  A.  D.  1,  in- 
terest being  allowed  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  com- 
pounded yearly,  then  1895  years  later — that  is  on 
January  1,  1895 — the  amount  due  would  be  $8,497,- 
840,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 
000  (8,497,840,000  decillions).  If  it  were  desired  to 
pay  this  in  gold,  23.2  grains  to  the  dollar,  then  taking 
spheres  of  pure  gold  the  size  of  the  earth,  it  \vould 
take  610,070,000,000,000,000  to  pay  for  that  cent. 
Placing  these  spheres  in  a  straight  row,  their  com- 
bined length  would  be  4,826,870,000,000,000,000 
miles,  a  distance  which  it  would  take  light  (going  at 
the  rate  of  186,330  miles  per  second)  820,890,000 
years  to  travel. 


Usury  Centralizes  Wealth,  183 

The  planets  and  stars  of  the  entire  solar  and  stellar 
universe,  as  seen  by  the  great  Lick  telescope,  if  they 
were  all  in  solid  gold,  would  not  nearly  pay  the 
amount.  A  single  sphere  to  pay  the  whole  amount, 
if  placed  with  its  centre  at  the  sun,  would  have  its 
surface  extending  563,580,000  miles  beyond  the  orbit 
of  the  planet  Neptune,  the  farthest  in  our  system. 

It  may  be  added  that  if  the  earth  had  contained  a 
population  of  ten  billions,  each  one  making  a  million 
dollars  a  second,  then  to  pay  for  that  cent  it  would 
have  required  their  combined  earnings  for  26,938,- 
500,000,000,000,000,000  years. 

Anyone  can  figure  on  this  and  see  if  it  be  correct. 

Had  Peter  only  thought  to  put  one  cent  at  interest, 
there  would  be  no  call  now  for  Peter's  pence. 

With  any  accretion  allowed,  the  concentration  of 
wealth  is  irresistible.  However  small  the  amount  of 
capital,  if  permitted  to  grow  at  any  rate  of  increase 
it  will  ultimately  absorb  everything.  Any  finite 
quantity  permitted  any  finite  rate  of  increase,  will, 
in  finite  time,  gather  all  that  is  less  than  infinite. 

The  only  difficulty  in  this  accretion  is  to  secure 
debtors  that  will  not  die.  We  inherit  the  property  of 
our  fathers,  but  fortunately  we  do  not  inherit  their 
personal  debts.  This  difficulty  is  being  overcome  by 
bonds  of  corporations  and  nations  that  live  on, 
though  the  individuals  composing  them  may,  age 
after  age,  pass  away.  This  makes  the  increase  per- 


184      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

petual.  Generations  may  come  and  go,  but  the  con- 
centration of  wealth  goes  uninterruptedly  on. 

This  is  not  visionary  theory,  but  is  shown  in  the 
practical  results  everywhere  apparent. 

The  usurers  of  England,  a  little  over  two  hundred 
years  ago,  secured  a  charter  for  a  bank  on  the  con- 
dition that  they  loan  the  crown  or  government 
1,200,000  pounds  sterling,  about  six  million  dollars. 

This  was  a  perpetual  loan,  never  to  be  repaid,  but 
annual  interest  at  eight  per  cent,  was  to  be  paid  by  the 
government  forever.  This  constant  annual  interest 
paid  to  this  bank  has  made  it  such  a  financial  power 
that  it  reaches  and  draws  to  itself  of  the  resources  of 
all  lands.  The  aggregated  wealth  of  the  institution, 
if  the  accretions  were  continuous,  would  now  be 
$25,165,824,000,000.  The  wealth  of  the  United 
Kingdom  is  estimated  at  fifty  billions,  and  all  Europe 
two  hundred  billions,  the  United  States  seventy 
billions,  and  the  whole  world's  wealth  at  five  hundred 
billions. 

Were  the  accretions  of  the  bank  at  eight  per  cent, 
undisturbed  and  unconsumed,  it  would  now  take  fifty 
worlds  as  rich  as  ours  to  pay  that  debt.  It  is  some- 
times wondered  how  there  can  be  such  an  accumula- 
tion of  wealth  in  one  institution  as  to  control  the 
finances  of  the  world. 

It  is  often  attributed  to  superior  wisdom  or  some 
profound,  occult  manipulation.  It  is  but  the  natural 


Usury  Centralizes  Wealth.  185 

operation  of  the  principle  of  interest — accretion  from 
age  to  age. 

The  managers  may  be  stupid  dolts,  only  so  they 
do  not  interfere  with  the  usurious  principle  in  its 
eternal  pull  on  the  resources  of  mankind. 

The  interest  bearing  debt  of  the  United  States,  at 
this  date,  is  about  one  thousand  millions.  This  in  one 
hundred  years  at  six  per  cent,  would  amount  to  $340,- 
000,000,000 ;  five  times  the  whole  present  wealth  of 
the  nation. 

The  smallest  national  bank  organized,  by  the  de- 
posit of  $25,000  of  bonds  yielding  two  per  cent,  in- 
terest, and  permitted  to  re-loan  the  same  funds  to  its 
private  customers  at  eight  per  cent.,  could  gather  to 
itself  in  one  hundred  years,  $345,225,000. 

The  wealth  of  an  individual  or  of  a  family  may  also 
grow  with  the  years  as  they  pass.  The  property  may 
be  in  public  bonds  or  that  of  incorporations,  requir- 
ing no  care  or  effort  on  their  part,  yet  it  may  be  con- 
tinually increasing.  A  usurer  in  any  community  in 
one  life  comes  to  absorb  the  wealth  of  that  com- 
munity, though  the  amount  loaned  at  the  beginning 
was  small.. 

The  accretions  are  the  irresistible  result  of  the 
principle  of  usury. 

The  wealth  is  more  and  more  centralized  as  the 
years  pass.  Great  trees  in  the  forest  shadow  the 
smaller,  and  rob  them  of  the  sunshine  and  moisture 
until  they  perish.  Great  fish  in  the  crowded  pond 


186      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury, 

feed  upon  the  smaller.  Individual  manufacturers  are 
absorbed  by  the  great  combinations  called  trusts. 
The  stockholders  of  a  railroad  are  absorbed  by  those 
who  have  large  and  contro1ling  interest.  But  the 
railroad  is  itself  absorbed  by  another  yet  greater  cor- 
poration, and  this  again  by  a  great  combine  that 
eliminates  the  influence  of  all  but  the  chief  control, 
and  tends  to  a  complete  centralization  of  all  the 
systems. 

There  is  no  escaping  from  this  centralizing  draft 
upon  all  resources,  when  the  system  of  interest-taking 
is  as  general  as  now.  Freedom  from  personal  debt 
does  not  deliver  us.  The  farmer,  the  most  inde- 
pendent of  men,,  in  his  own  home,  free  from  personal 
debt,  yet  must  contribute  to  this  centralizing  by  pay- 
ing interest  on  bonds  in  every  shipment  of  produce, 
and  every  mile  of  railroad  travel.  He  pays  tribute 
also  in  all  the  tools  that  he  buys,  in  the  food  that  he 
eats  and  the  clothes  that  he  wears. 

This  centralizing  draft  is  constant,  -though  not 
always  equally  apparent.  Certain  favorable  con- 
ditions may  hold  in  check,  for  a  time,  the  adverse 
influence  and  cause  a  temporary  distribution  of 
wealth  to  the  producers.  Its  force  is  not,  however, 
destroyed,  but  only  restrained  for  a  time,  and  then 
draws  with  accumulated  power. 

Times  of  industrial  depression  and  commercial  dis- 
asters are  occurring  over  and  over  again.  Some 
economists  attribute  them  to  the  peculiar  industrial 


Usury  Centralizes  Wealth.  187 

and  monetary  conditions  of  the  periods  in  which  they 
occur;  but  they  have  seldom  agreed  as  to  the  causes 
of  any  particular  panic.  They  are  so  regular  in  their 
recurrence  that  some  economists  have  thought  they 
must  be  produced  by  some  constant  cause;  like  the 
moon  causing  the  tides  of  the  ocean.  Both  are  true. 
There  is  a  general  and  there  is  also  a  secondary  or 
superficial  cause. 

The  times  of  greatest  commercial  disasters  in  this 
country  were  in  the  years  1809,  1818,  1837,  1873, 
1893. 

The  political  economists  can  assign  as  reasons 
some  peculiar  conditions  prevailing  in  each  of  these 
periods,  but  the  wisest  have  never  gone  deep  enough 
to  discover  the  general  cause;  this  constant  cen- 
tralizing draft  of  usury. 

In  these  periods  of  commercial  disaster  there  is  no 
destruction  of  property.  There  is  only  a  general 
shake  up  and  redistribution.  All  the  wealth  of  the 
country  remains,  but  after  the  disaster  wealth  is 
always  found  to  be  in  fewer  hands.  Some  have  be- 
come rich,  many  who  were  thought  to  be  wealthy  are 
ruined,  and  the  number  of  the  poor  has  been 
multiplied. 

A  patient  may  be  afflicted  with  some  deep-seated, 
chronic  disease  that  makes  him  very  easily  affected 
by  a  change  of  the  weather,  by  a  change  of  his  diet  or 
of  his  bed,  and  these  may  be  assigned  as  the  causes 
of  his  frequent  relapses,  and  they  are  the  immediate 


188      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

or  secondary  causes,  but  the  real  cause  is  the  deep- 
seated,  chronic  disease.  Cure  that  disease  and  the 
changes  in  conditions,  now  so  serious,  would  not  be 
noticed  by  the  healthy  man. 

The  real  and  constant  cause  of  our  recurring  finan- 
cial disasters  is  this  centralizing  usury  that  directly 
opposes  the  distribution  of  wealth  that  is  natural, 
when  the  producers  of  wealth  are  permitted  to  receive 
and  enjoy  it.  Root  out  this  evil,  and  then  the  trifling 
differences  in  our  harvests,  changes  in  our  tariff  laws, 
currency  legislation,  and  the  score  of  other  things 
that  now  affect  us,  would  be  unfelt  by  the  healthy 
body  politic. 

If  this  centralizing  power  is  destroyed  then  the 
natural  distribution  would  be  undisturbed,  and  these, 
so-called,  panics  would  be  unknown. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MAMMON  DOMINATES  THE  NATIONS. 

The  debt  habit  has  been  diligently  cultivated  and 
encouraged,  until  the  nations  are  enslaved.  Public 
bonds  imply  bondsmen,  and  the  nations  are  no  longer 
free.  There  is  a  mortgage  upon  the  inventive  genius, 
industry  and  productive  energy  of  the  world. 

Usurers  greatly  prefer  an  organized  government  as 
a  debtor.  The  individual  may  die,  but  a  nation's 
debts  bind  from  age  to  age,  are  bequeathed  by  the 
fathers  to  the  children,  and  thus  descend  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.  The  bonds  of  no  corporation, 
however  great  and  rich,  can  be  so  secure.  They  em- 
brace special  industries,  while  national  debts  are  a 
claim  upon  every  industry  and  a  mortgage  upon 
every  foot  of  soil,  and  every  dollar  of  present  personal 
property,  and  of  all  that  may  be  produced  in  the 
whole  realm. 

If  we  express  the  world's  indebtedness,  the  national 
debts,  in  the  terms  of  our  currency,  as  nearly  as  we 
can  reduce  the  currency  of  other  nations  to  such  an 
expression,  we  find  the  national  debts  as  follows,  in 
1890: 

Denmark $       33,004,722 

Great  Britain  3,848,460,000 

United   States    915,962,112 

Germany    1,956,217,017 

189 


190      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Austria-Hungary    $2,666,339,539 

France    4,446,793,398 

Russia    3,491,016,074 

Italy    2,324,826,329 

Spain 1,251,433,096 

Netherlands    430,539,653 

Belgium   360,504,099 

Sweden    64,220,807 

Norway    13,973,752 

Portugal    490,493,599 

Greece    107,306,518 

Turkey   821,000,000 

Switzerland    10,912,925 


These   debts   aggregate    $22,955,386,008 

Hundreds  of  millions  have  been  added  to  these 
national  debts  in  the  last  ten  years.  Nearly  every 
nation  has  increased  its  indebtedness,  possibly  no  na- 
tion has  decreased  it,  and  others,  like  China,  with  its 
recent  great  loan,  and  little  Korea,  with  its  twelve 
millions,  must  be  added  to  the  list.  The  debts  of  the 
nations  of  Europe  have  been  increased  until  they  now 
amount  in  the  aggregate  to  twenty-three  billions. 
The  debts  of  the  nations  of  all  the  world  have  in- 
creased one-half  since  1890,  and  now  aggregate 
thirty-three  billions. 

These  great  national  debts  are  practically  perpetual, 
and  though  they  may  be  at  so  low  a  rate  of  interest  as 
three  per  cent.,  they  absorb  the  energies  of  the  peo- 
ple, and,  like  a  glacier  grinding  over  the  earth,  crush 
all  beneath  them. 

Public  debts  are  incurred  to  relieve  the  present 
wealth  of  the  burden  of  present  duty.  Debts  place 
the  whole  burden  on  producers  of  the  future.  They 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  191 

relieve  those  who  hold  the  wealth  now,  but  are  a  draft 
upon  those  who  make  the  wealth  that  is  to  be. 

An  individual  incurring  debt  places  a  mortgage 
upon  his  productions ;  by  a  pledge  of  future  produc- 
tion he  relieves  himself  of  the  strain  of  the  present. 

A  family  incurs  debt ;  a  part  of  the  members  of 
the  house  are  strong  and  capable  of  productive  labor, 
and  a  part  are  not ;  the  whole  burden  of  the  payment 
comes  upon  the  productive  members  of  the  home. 
The  weak  and  helpless  and  the  indolent,  though 
strong,  bear  no  part  of  the  burden.  This  family  has 
a  home,  and  a  mortgage  is  placed  upon  it  to  secure 
the  present  needs.  The  burden  of  paying  the  inter- 
est on  this  mortgage,  and  the  final  payment  of  the 
principal,  is  wholly  on  the  capable  and  industrious 
members  of  the  family. 

National  debts  are  incurred  to  relieve  the  present 
wealth  of  the  burden  of  present  government  calls  and 
obligations,  and  to  roll  it  upon  those  who  shall  pro- 
duce wealth  in  the  future.  So  the  debt  of  a  city, 
state,  or  nation  is  a  present  relief  to  property  holders, 
by  placing  the  producers  under  future  obligations. 

A  street  in  a  city  is  to  be  paved ;  no  additional  tax 
is  levied ;  but  bonds  are  issued  running  twenty  years. 

This  relieves  the  present  wealth  of  the  burden, 
placing  it  upon  those  who  shall  produce  the  wealth 
that  shall  be  in  twenty  years. 

The  expenses  of  a  great  war  must  be  met.  Present 
taxes  may  be  slightly  increased,  but  to  meet  the  bur- 


192      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

den  consols  or  public  bonds  are  issued  to  be  paid 
at  a  distant  date.  This  relieves  the  present  wealth, 
but  binds  it  upon  those  who  shall  be  the  producers 
of  wealth  in  the  generations  to  come.  Hume  says, 
"The  practice  of  contracting  debts  will  almost  in- 
variably be  abused  by  every  government.  It  would 
scarcely  be  more  imprudent  to  give  a  prodigal  son  a 
credit  with  every  banker,  than  to  empower  statesmen 
to  draw  bills  in  this  manner  on  posterity." 

These  public  bonds  are  the  golden  opportunity  of 
the  usurers.  Not  only  is  their  wealth  relieved  of  all 
burden,  but  it  affords  an  opportunity  of  profitable 
investment  with  the  best  possible  debtor.  They  can 
pose  as  enterprising  citizens,  and  urge  great  public 
improvements,  and  at  the  same  time  gain  a  most  sure 
and  profitable  investment.  They  can  pose  as  patriots 
in  time  of  war,  and  urge  that  it  be  pressed  with  en- 
ergy at  whatever  cost  of  treasure  and  blood.  It  is 
not  their  blood  that  is  shed,  nor  their  wealth  that  is 
wasted.  It  gives  them  the  opportunity  of  binding 
their  burdens  on  the  nation  for  the  producers  of  the 
coming  generations  to  carry. 

Usurers  never  wish  public  debts  paid.  They  wish 
them  issued  for  as  long  time  as  possible,  and  then  re- 
issued, or  the  time  extended  before  they  are  due. 
This  is  done  by  the  figment  called  refunding,  as  if  it 
were  a  concession  and  favor  to  a  poor  debtor.  It  is 
but  a  device  to  keep  the  burden  on  the  public  back.  It 
is  not  a  financial  feat  and  triumph  for  the  chancellor 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  193 

of  the  exchequer  to  refund  a  public  debt.  He  but 
yields  himself  as  a  tool  to  the  usurers  to  continue 
their  loans.  They  resist  the  payment  when  due,  but 
when  an  officer  is  found  willing  to  extend  them  before 
they  are  due  all  trouble  is  avoided  and  the  accretions 
of  interest  are  not  interrupted  for  a  day. 

Those  who  hold  the  bonds  of  a  nation  direct  its 
destinies.  The  nation  borrowing  is  servant  to  the 
lender,  just  as  an  individual.  The  nation  compro- 
mises its  freedom  and  becomes  the  slave  of  its  bond- 
holders. The  usurers  use  their  power  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  their  own  material  interests,  and  hold 
all  other  purposes  of  government  as  inferior  to  their 
own  ends.  This  subordination  of  a  people,  to  the 
creditors,  is  fatal  to  republican  and  constitutional 
governments;  the  form  may  be  preserved  for  a  time, 
but  the  substance  of  free  government  has  departed. 

The  concentration  of  wealth  carries  with  it  the  con- 
centration of  power,  and  is  inimical  to  republican  in- 
stitutions. A  proper  distribution  of  wealth  and 
power  must  be  preserved  or  popular  government  is 
put  in  jeopardy. 

The  first  bank  of  deposit  and  discount  was  the 
Bank  of  Venice,  in  the  republic  of  Venetia.  It  con- 
tinued its  existence  for  six  hundred  years,  until  the 
government  that  gave  it  life  itself  perished.  From  its 
long  continuous  business,  and  its  success  as  a  bank, 
it  has  been  spoken  of  in  every  work  on  banking  as 
a  model.  It  began  its  association  with  the  republic 


194      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

in  1171,  and  dominated  it,  sapping  its  life,  and  as- 
suming its  functions,  until  the  bank  practically  ruled 
the  state,  and  when  one  fell  both  perished  in  179Y. 
The  usurers  received  their  hold  on  the  state  in  a  time 
of  the  greatest  need.  The  republic  had  been  im- 
poverished by  the  crusades,  and  was  in  dire  financial 
straits.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  by  the  usurers 
to  so  bind  the  bank  and  state  together  that  when  one 
lived  the  other  must,  or  both  must  die  together. 
Stock  in  the  bank  was  a  loan  to  the  state  at  four  per 
cent,  annual  interest.  The  union  seemed  to  promise 
great  prosperity  for  a  time,  but  really  absorbed  all 
the  republic's  vitality  during  the  last  hundred  years 
of  their  life. 

Venetia  was  at  the  first  a  pure  democracy.  The 
Doge  was  elected  by  the  people  and  administered 
the  government,  himself  being  the  responsible  head. 
He,  later,  chose  advisers,  or  a  cabinet,  to  be  asso- 
ciated in  the  responsible  duties.  After  this,  and  about 
the  time  of  the  association  with  the  bank,  a  repre- 
sentative council  was  elected  by  the  people,  and  the 
government  was  administered  by  the  Doge  and  this 
council.  This  was  gradually  transformed  from  a 
government  of  the  people  to  an  oligarchy;  and  as 
the  years  passed  there  were  no  steps  taken  toward  a 
return,  but  the  authority  and  power  was  more  and 
more  centralized.  The  ruling  class  was,  in  a  hundred 
years,  limited  to  those  families  enrolled  in  the 
"Golden  Book."  In  another  hundred  years  the  gov- 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  195 

ernment  was  in  control  of  the  "Council  of  Ten." 
Later  the  secret  tribunal  of  three  was  the  terror  of  the 
people  and  the  instrument  of  their  oppression.  The 
republic  was  only  such  in  name,  the  people  were  de- 
prived of  all  voice  in  the  government,  and  the  Doge 
became  a  puppet  to  obey  the  ruling  cabal. 

Shakespeare  went  to  Venice  to  find  his  typical 
usurer  in  Shylock  the  Jew.  He  found  there  also  his 
typical  Christian,  Antonio.  Antonio  was  a  benevo- 
lent great  soul,  who  loved  his  friends,  supported  all 
benevolences,  and  hated  the  usurers.  Shylock  hated 
him  because  he  would  lend  without  interest,  and  was 
constantly  reproving  him  for  his  usurious  practice. 

The  contest  between  the  usurers  and  the  people 
of  the  Venetian  republic  was  a  struggle  for  the  life, 
but  the  usurers  never  relaxed  their  hold.  They 
dominated  until  the  end. 

Another  great  triumph  of  the  usurers  was  in  Eng- 
land at  the  time  of  great  need.  William  and  Mary 
had  been  placed  upon  the  throne  by  the  Protestants, 
but  were  in  need  of  money  to  carry  on  the  struggle 
for  its  complete  establishment.  This  was  the  usurers' 
opportunity.  Former  kings,  in  like  straits,  had  con- 
fiscated the  wealth  of  the  usurious  Jews,  Lombards 
and  Goldsmiths,  and  appropriated  their  property  as 
a  penalty  for  their  unchristian  practice,  but  William 
and  Mary  entered  into  a  contract  with  them  to  gain 
their  assistance,  giving  them  special  privileges  to 
secure  a  permanent  loan.  They  were  to  loan  the 


196      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

crown  1,200,000  pounds  sterling.  This  was  never  to 
be  repaid,  but  interest  at  the  rate  of  eight  per  cent, 
per  annum  was  to  be  paid  forever.  This  loan  was  a 
marvel  of  success.  There  was  a  great  rush  of  usurers 
to  place  their  money  with  the  crown  as  a  perpetual 
loan  at  that  rate  of  increase.  Their  usuries,  which 
had  hitherto  been  counted  dishonest  gain,  were 
henceforth  to  be  honorable,  and  they  esteemed  as 
patriots. 

Thus,  the  first  Protestant  power  in  the  world  was 
established  in  the  hands  of  usurers,  and  bound  to  con- 
tinue associated  with  them  forever.  The  story,  by 
Macauley,  of  the  establishment  of  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land, is  familiar  to  all  students  of  English  history. 

This  bank  is  a  great  corporation;  the  Board  of 
Directors  is  composed  of  twenty-six  members,  who 
elect  their  own  successors,  and  thus  it  is  entirely  in- 
dependent. It  makes  laws  for  its  own  direction  in 
the  name  of  the  people  or  defies  their  control.  In 
1797  it  secured  an  order  from  the  privy  council  or- 
dering itself  to  suspend  specie  payment.  It  obeyed 
its  own  order  promptly,,  and  at  the  same  time  an- 
nounced their  strength  and  that  the  order  would  be 
temporary;  but  for  one  excuse  and  another  it  was 
continued  for  twenty-five  years. 

Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  1844,  having  become  convinced 
of  the  dangerous  and  disastrous  influence,  expanding 
and  contracting  its  loans,  secured  the  enactment  of 
a  law  to  regulate  and  limit  its  circulation.  This  law 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  197 

was  distasteful  to  the  bank,  and  was,  upon  its  enact- 
ment, defied  by  open  disobedience.  It  has  not  only 
dictated  the  laws  for  its  own  regulation,  but  directed 
both  the  domestic  and  the  foreign  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment. It  has  subordinated  the  public  weal  to 
financial  profit.  This  corporation  of  usurers  manage 
all  the  finances  of  the  kingdom,  and  has  more  in- 
fluence than  Crown  and  Parliament  combined.  As  a 
great  uncrowned  king  it  dictates  the  diplomatic  pol- 
icies of  the  United  Kingdom.  Its  influence  has  not 
been  extended  to  promote  Protestant  Christian  faith, 
Jews  are  not  zealous  for  any  Christian  sect;  nor  for 
the  purpose  of  lifting  up  the  degraded  and  enlighten- 
ing them ;  nor  in  the  east  has  it  exercised  its  power  to 
relieve  human  suffering,  but  its  diplomatic  policy  has 
been  mercenary  greed  always. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  enlightened  Christian 
people  of  the  United  Kingdom  are  not  the  English 
government.  There  has  been,  for  two  hundred 
years,  a  power  behind  the  Throne,  behind  Parliament, 
behind  the  people,  essentially  selfish  and  commer- 
cial. This  has  controlled  India  for  profit,  while  the 
benevolent  people  were  anxious  to  christianize  and 
uplift.  It  has  befriended  the  Turk  while  England 
wept  over  the  Turkish  barbarities.  It  forced  opium 
upon  China  while  the  Christian  people  sent  mis- 
sionaries. The  people  of  England  love  freedom,  yet 
the  government  has  endeavored  to  crush  it  in  the 
American  colonies  and  everywhere  throughout  the 


198      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

world,  when  in  conflict  with  a  selfish  commercial 
policy.  The  English  people  cry  out  against  human 
slavery,  yet  in  the  struggle  in  the  United  States,  when 
slavery  was  in  the  balance,  the  English  government 
earnestly  espoused  the  cause  of  those  who  upheld 
slavery.  The  English  people  rejoiced  that  the  slave 
trade  in  Africa  was  abolished,  yet  the  government  en- 
acted the  hut  tax,  and  compels  now  the  service  of  the 
young  and  vigorous  blacks  in  the  mines,  sending 
them  back  to  their  people  when  their  strength 
declines. 

In  the  establishment  of  the  republic  of  the  United 
States  there  was  a  strong  resistance  to  any  debt  or 
subordination  to  usurers.  The  history  of  banks  in 
the  United  States  shows  a  struggle  at  the  birth  of 
the  nation  between  the  usurers,  who  demanded  the 
management  of  the  finances,  and  the  people  who  re- 
sisted. This  struggle  continued  for  half  a  century, 
when  the  people  triumphed,  and  for  thirty  years  there 
was  no  hint  of  a  purpose  to  overthrow  what  was 
regarded  as  the  settled  policy  of  the  nation. 

The  first  bank  was  incorporated  in  1791.  Its  estab- 
lishment was  strongly  resisted,  but  being  urged  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  a  charter  was  granted 
for  twenty  years.  When  that  charter  expired  by 
limitation  in  1811,  there  was  a  struggle  by  the  usurers 
to  secure  its  renewal,  but  they  were  defeated.  They 
did  not,  however,  abandon  their  effort.  In  1816  they 
secured  the  charter  of  the  second  bank  of  the  United 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  199 

States.  This  charter  was  also  limited  to  twenty  years, 
expiring  in  1836.  There  was  a  tremendous  struggle 
for  its  renewal,  but  the  chief  executive,  backed  by  a 
strong  political  party,  so  completely  defeated  it  that 
the  usurers  for  the  time  yielded,  and  for  thirty  years 
the  settled  policy  of  the  government  forbade  the  alli- 
ance with  usurers  and  the  making  of  any  public  debt. 
Many  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  that  period  were 
very  pronounced  in  their  opposition. 

"The  banking  system  concentrates  and  places  the 
power  in  the  hands  of  those  who  control  it. 

"Never  was  an  engine  invented  better  calculated  to 
place  the  destines  of  the  many  in  the  hands  of  the  few, 
or  less  favorable  to  that  equality  and  independence 
which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  our  free  institutions." — J. 
C.  Calhoun. 

"I  object  to  the  continuance  of  this  bank  because 
its  tendencies  are  dangerous  and  pernicious  to  the 
government  and  the  people.  It  tends  to  aggravate 
the  inequality  of  fortunes;  to  make  the  rich  richer, 
and  the  poor  poorer ;  to  multiply  nabobs  and  paupers, 
and  to  deepen  and  widen  the  gulf  that  separates  Dives 
from  Lazarus." — Thomas  H.  Benton. 

"I  sincerely  believe  that  banking  establishments 
are  more  dangerous  than  standing  armies.  I  am  not 
among  those  who  fear  the  people.  They  and  not 
the  rich  are  our  dependence  for  continued  freedom. 
And  to  preserve  their  independence,  we  must  not  let 


200      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

our  rulers  load  us  with  perpetual  debts." — Thomas 
Jefferson. 

"Events  have  satisfied  my  mind,  and  I  think  the 
minds  of  the  American  people,  that  the  mischief  and 
dangers  which  flow  from  a  national  bank  far  over- 
balance all  its  advantages." — Andrew  Jackson. 

The  usurers  were  compelled  to  remain  under  public 
condemnation  during  thirty  years,  as  sentiment  was 
strongly  against  them  and  conditions  were  not  in 
their  favor,  but  they  did  not  relax  their  watchful 
effort  nor  abandon  hope  of  ultimate  success.  When 
the  nation  was  struggling  to  prevent  its  dissolution 
in  1861-5,  and  unusual  war  measures  seemed  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  great  emergency,  the  usurers  saw 
their  opportunity  and  came  forward,  as  they  did  in 
Venice  and  England;  they  would  loan  the  govern- 
ment the  funds  necessary  to  carry  on  the  war,  if  the 
government  would  comply  with  their  conditions  and 
grant  them  the  privileges  demanded.  They  asked 
that  their  loan  be  perpetual,  like  the  English  loan; 
that  they  should  be  freed  from  the  burdens  of  the 
government ;  that  their  loan  should  be  free  from  tax- 
ation; that  they  should  receive  their  interest  semi- 
annually,  and  not  in  the  common  legal  tender,  but  in 
coin:  that  they  be  permitted  to  issue  their  own  notes 
as  currency  to  be  loaned  to  their  customers;  that  the 
government  discredit  its  own  issues  and  endorse 
theirs;  and  that  they  be  given  a  monopoly  by  taxing 
out  of  existence  all  opposition. 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  201 

These  were  great  demands,  and  were  regarded  as 
extortionate  and  oppressive.  The  struggle  was  se- 
vere, but  the  enemy  in  the  field  was  threatening  the 
life  of  the  nation,  while  the  usurers  were  urgent  and 
posing  as  patriots,  that  they  might  accomplish  their 
ends.  True  patriots,  anxious  to  defeat  the  enemy  in 
arms,  regarded  these  usurers  at  home  as  equally  the 
enemies  of  freedom.  They  were  in  a  strait  betwixt 
two  foes. 

Secretary  McCullough  said,  "Hostility  to  the  gov- 
ernment has  been  as  decidedly  manifested  in  the 
efforts  that  have  been  made  in  the  commercial 
metropolis  of  the  nation  to  depreciate  the  currency 
as  has  been  by  the  enemy." 

The  opposition  to  the  usurers  was  very  strong  and 
bitter,  but  the  conditions  were  in  their  favor  and  they 
gained  a  decided  advantage.  In  the  Senate  the  vote 
stood  twenty-three  yeas  to  twenty-one  nays.  It  was 
carried  only  as  a  war  measure.  There  was  an  effort 
to  limit  the  usurers'  privileges  to  the  war  and  one 
year  after  its  close.  This  was  not  successful,  but 
their  loan  was  confined  to  the  war  debt,  and  their 
time  to  its  payment,  limited  to  twenty  years. 

This  action  caused  great  distress  and  dark  forbod- 
ings  of  evil  to  many  of  the  thoughtful.  It  was  setting 
aside  the  policy  of  the  nation,  which  had  been  gen- 
erally acquiesced  in  as  wise  and  judicious  and  safe  for 
many  years.  The  old  patriot  Thadeus  Stevens,  in  the 
opening  of  a  speech  in  a  preliminary  skirmish  between 


202      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

patriotism  and  usurers,  said:  "I  approach  the  sub- 
ject with  more  depression  of  spirits  than  I  ever  before 
approached  any  question.  No  personal  motive  or 
feeling  influences  me.  I  hope  not,  at  least.  I  have  a 
melancholy  foreboding  that  we  are  about  to  consum- 
mate a  cunningly  devised  scheme,  which  will  carry 
great  injury  and  great  loss  to  all  classes  of  people 
throughout  the  Union,  except  one."  Later  he  said, 
in  excuse  of  the  action,  "We  had  to  yield,  we  did  not 
yield  until  we  found  that  the  country  must  be  lost 
or  the  banks  gratified,  and  we  have  sought  to  save 
the  country  in  spite  of  the  cupidity  of  its  wealthier 
classes." 

The  usurers  have  never  relaxed  the  hold  they  se- 
cured by  this  victory,  and  have  since  been  continually 
increasing  their  power.  They  obtained  an  extension 
or  "refunding"  of  the  war  debt,  and  a  renewal  of  their 
charters  by  the  general  laws,  so  their  hold  is  indefin- 
itely extended.  Bonds  are  no  longer  limited  to  the 
covering  of  war  expenses,  but  are  issued  freely  in 
times  of  peace.  The  traditions  of  the  fathers  have 
been  cast  to  the  winds,  and  their  fears  derided  and 
their  policy  changed.  The  usurers  have  been  firmly 
in  the  saddle  for  many  years,  and  have  defeated  every 
effort  that  has  been  made  to  unseat  them. 

The  great  debts  of  the  nations  have  brought  all 
mankind  into  subjection  to  the  usurers.  Those  who 
hold  the  bonds  have  the  destinies  of  the  race  in  their 
hands.  They  pervert  the  ends  of  government;  the 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  203 

protection  of  life,  liberty  and  the  highest  good  of 
all  the  people ;  they  make  governments  their  tools  to 
gather  and  appropriate  the  earnings  of  the  many. 

They  have  exalted  Mammon  upon  the  throne  of 
the  world,  and  scoff  at  the  God  of  heaven,  who  seeks 
the  poor  and  needy,  and  who  would  in  love  lift  up 
every  son  and  daughter  of  the  whole  race. 

Milton  presents  Mammon  as  one  of  the  devils  cast 
out  of  heaven  with  Satan,  and  as  saying  in  the  council 
of  the  demons,  "What  place  can  be  found  for  us 
within  heaven's  bound,  unless  heaven's  Lord  we 
overpower?  .  .  .  How  wearisome  eternity  so 
spent  in  worship  paid,  to  one  we  hate." 

The  reign  of  Mammon  subordinates  character  and 
virtue  and  liberty  and  human  life  to  sordid  gain,  yet 
he  holds  the  scepter  of  power. 

He  elects  legislators  and  senators.  He  elects  gov- 
ernors or  directs  their  arrest  if  they  refuse  to  obey 
him.  He  elects  presidents  and  dictates  their  policies. 
He  places  kings  on  their  thrones  and  holds  them 
there  while  they  do  his  bidding.  He  strips  a  Khedive 
of  power,  and  yet  retains  him  as  a  collector  of  rev- 
enue. He  steadies  the  Sultan's  tottering  throne,  and 
compels  six  great  Christian  powers  to  stand  by  in 
silence  while  humanity  is  outraged.  The  Armenian's 
blood  must  be  permitted  to  flow  because  the  persecu- 
tion is  by  a  great  servant,  the  Sultan,  who  pays  in- 
terest on  bonds,  and  his  victims  are  only  freemen. 
The  murder  of  one  hundred  thousand  Armenians 


204      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

meant  nothing  to  Mammon.  But  when  the  Cretans 
were  persecuted  by  the  same  Sultan,  the  suffering  and 
bloodshed  was  soon  ordered  stopped  by  these  same 
six  powers,  at  Mammon's  command.  The  Cretans 
were  servants  of  the  common  master;  the  Cretan 
bonds  were  endangered.  The  cry  of  suffering  hu- 
manity came  up  to  deaf  ears,  but  the  cry  of  endan- 
gered bonds  was  heard  from  afar  by  this  reigning 
god  of  wealth. 

The  little  republics  of  Africa  were  freemen,  and 
therefore  Mammon  sees  them  strangled  with  indiffer- 
ence. Mammon  gathers  the  civilized  nations  around 
China  and  demands  that  she  shall  be  .enslaved  by  all 
the  bonds  she  can  safely  carry  or  submit  to  vivisection 
and  distribution. 

This  enslavement  of  the  race  is  not  by  the  destroy- 
ing of  intelligence,  nor  by  denying  the  first  principles 
of  civil  liberty,  nor  by  crushing  the  aspirations  for 
freedom,  but  by  producing  conditions  that  make  the 
application  of  these  principles  and  the  exercise  of 
freedom  impossible.  Though  the  race  may  increase 
in  intelligence  and  theoretically  have  correct  views  of 
personal  freedom  and  civil  liberty,  yet  the  conditions 
produced  necessarily  by  usury  utterly  prevent  their 
realization.  The  intelligence  and  aspirations  of  the 
race  never  were  higher  than  at  present,  their  subjec- 
tion and  subordination  to  material  wealth  was  never 
more  complete. 


Mammon  Dominates  the  Nations.  205 

The  scepter  wherein  lies  Mammon's  power  to 
sway  the  nations  is  usury.  When  bonds  bear  no  in- 
crease his  sovereignty  is  gone.  All  motive  to  involve 
the  nation  in  debt  at  once  disappears,  and  the  power 
to  control  is  lost.  Moses'  law  was  divinely  wise  that 
forbade  interest,  that  his  people  could  not  be  enslaved 
and  might  remain  a  free  people  forever. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
EFFECT  ON   CHARACTER. 

The  greatest  factor  in  life  in  all  ages  is  not  material 
wealth,  nor  social  position,  nor  genius,  nor  education, 
but  character.  Since  man  is  above  things,  the  high- 
est purpose  is  not  the  gathering  of  that  beneath  him, 
but  the  developing  of  the  best  and  noblest  that  is 
in  him. 

The  highest  possible  purpose  and  work  is  the  de- 
veloping of  virtuous  manhood. 

This  was  the  thought  of  our  fathers  when  they 
came  to  these  shores  and  built  their  homes  and  estab- 
lished the  free  institutions  which  we  now  enjoy. 
They  sacrificed  material  advantages  that  they  might 
be  free  men  and  secure  for  themselves  and  for  their 
children  the  opportunity  to  reach  in  faith  and  prac- 
tice the  ideal  manhood. 

No  material  advantage  can  be  regarded  with  favor 
that  is  detrimental  to  the  characters  of  men.  Posi- 
tion, wealth,  education,  are  worse  than  worthless 
when  associated  with  a  corrupted  manhood. 

"Ill  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
Where  wealth  accumulates,  and  men  decay." 

The  test  of  truth  is  its  developing  of  the  virtues 
and  graces.  Falsehood  is  detected  by  its  quickening 

206 


Effect  on  Character.  207 

the  vices  that  degrade  and  destroy.     "By  their  fruits 
shall  ye  know  them." 

Virtues  are  linked  together  so  that  the  promoting 
of  one  gives  strength  to  the  others.  All  vices  are  also 
so  linked  that  the  stimulating  of  one  quickens  other 
vices. 

Virtues  and  vices  are  opposite,  so  that  the  encour- 
aging of  a  vice  or  fault  discourages  the  opposing 
virtue.  When  you  discourage  a  virtue,  you  encour- 
age a  vice. 

The  old-fashioned  virtues  which  our  fathers  prized, 
and  which  they  regarded  essential  elements  of  worthy 
manhood,  were  industry,  and  honesty,  and  self- 
reliance,  and  brotherly  sympathy,  and  the  devout 
recognition  of  God's  divine  sovereignty. 

1.  Usury  discourages  industry  and  encourages 
idleness.  The  laborer  is  stirred  to  diligence  when  he 
gets  good  wages.  When  his  wages  are  meager  he  be- 
comes discouraged,  relaxes  his  efforts  and  may  aban- 
don his  work  altogether.  When  he  knows  that  he  is 
receiving  less  than  he  is  earning,  and  that  a  part  of 
his  earnings  are  appropriated  by  another,  he  is  em- 
bittered and  becomes  indifferent.  When  he  receives 
all  he  earns,  and  the  more  diligent  he  is  in  his  work 
the  more  he  receives,  he  is  stimulated  to  the  utmost. 

This  will  be  especially  true  if  it  is  made  impossible 
to  secure  a  gain  without  earning  it.  The  benefit  of 
full  wages  may  be  largely  lost  by  the  knowledge  of 


208      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

persons  who,  without  productive  effort,  are  appro- 
priating the  earnings  of  others.  The  influence  of 
their  easy,  indolent  lives  may  destroy  or  counteract 
the  beneficent  influence  of  good  wages.  The  laborer 
may  be  led  to  despise  his  well-paid  tasks  and  yearn  for 
their  ease,  and  thus  become  indolent. 

One  is  encouraged  to  idleness  when  he  discovers 
that  he  can  secure  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  another's 
face.  He  is  likely  to  relax  his  efforts  if  he  does  not 
forsake  all  personal  productive  occupations.  He  may 
give  great  care  and  the  closest  attention  to  the 
management  of  his  wealth,  loaning  to  others  and  col- 
lecting the  increase,  but  not  to  productive  industry. 

There  are  activities  that  look  like 'virtues,  but  they 
are  perverted  efforts.  The  slave-driver  may  work  as 
hard  as  the  slave  in  his  efforts  to  appropriate  the  earn- 
ings of  others.  The  thief  may  work  in  the  night  and 
endure  more  hardness  to  secure  the  property  of  an- 
other than  would  be  necessary  to  honestly  earn  it. 
The  usurer  may  give  his  thought,  night  and  day,  to 
the  placing  of  his  wealth  the  most  securely  and  at 
the  best  rates  of  interest,  and  at  the  same  time  aban- 
don all  effort  in  the  direct  management  of  useful 
productive  enterprises. 

The  complete  result  of  usury  upon  the  habit  of  in- 
dustry can  be  realized  in  those  who  have  grown  up 
under  its  influence ;  those  who  have  an  income  secure 
from  invested  funds.  When  there  is  no  need,  present 
nor  prospective,  there  is  no  motive  to  active  industry, 


Effect  on  Character.  209 

and  the  love  of  ease  and  pleasure  grows  and  drives 
out  all  heart  for  productive  effort. 

The  industrious  habit  coupled  with  economy  is 
called  thrift.  It  is  not  parsimony  or  unwillingness  to 
give,  but  a  disposition  to  save.  Our  Lord,  who  was 
the  prince  of  givers  and  inculcated  unlimited  giving 
among  his  followers,  gave  a  lesson  in  thrift  when  he 
said  after  his  miracle,  "Gather  up  the  fragments,  that 
nothing  be  lost." 

Enforced  industry  and  economy  is  not  thrift. 
When  by  low  wages  or  grinding  conditions  the  neces- 
sities of  life  are  with  difficulty  secured,  the  very  op- 
posite disposition  may  be  cultivated.  When  the  ex- 
ternal restraints  are  removed,  the  wildest  extrava- 
gance may  be  indulged  in.  This  is  sometimes  given 
as  an  excuse  for  low,  grinding  wages ;  that  "the  work- 
men and  their  wives  have  no  idea  of  saving;"  that 
higher  wages  would  be  wasted  in  foolish  extrava- 
gance. 

No  one  in  normal  conditions  will  be  wasteful  of 
that  which  has  cost  him  hard  labor.  His  care  for  it 
will  naturally  be  in  proportion  to  the  effort  that  was 
necessary  to  secure  it.  Those  who  waste  the  wealth 
of  the  world  are  not  those  who  by  the  sweat  of  their 
faces  have  produced  it.  The  habit  of  thrift  comes 
from  the  knowledge  of  the  value  of  a  thing,  learned 
by  earning  it.  Only  that  which  comes  without  effort 
will  be  spent  without  thought.  Those  who  have  liv- 
ings secured  from  the  increase  or  interest  of  "pro- 


210      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

ductive"  capital,  having  no  need  of  industry,  are 
wholly  occupied  with  the  spending;  but  in  spending 
only,  the  value  of  the  thing  spent  is  not  appreciated, 
the  habit  of  extravagance  grows  and  they  become 
the  idlers  and  the  spendthrifts  of  the  world. 

2.  It  prevents  open  and  frank  honesty.  When 
the  thought  is  turned  to  an  endeavor  to  secure  a  dol- 
lar that  is  not  earned,  there  is  secretiveness  of  purpose 
and  inward  guile.  No  person  doing  business  on  bor- 
rowed capital  advertises  the  number  and  amount  of 
his  loans  nor  does  he  welcome  inquiry  by  others.  In 
a  column  of  advertisements  by  money  lenders  in  a 
newspaper  lying  on  this  table  every  one  promises 
"privacy"  or  "no  publicity."  No  one  can  be  so  open 
and  frank  as  the  one  who  earns  every  dollar  that  he 
receives  or  seeks. 

The  possibility  of  speculation  is  ruinous.  The  first 
step  in  the  wreck  of  integrity  in  a  young  man's  char- 
acter is  when  he  becomes  absorbed  in  some  scheme 
by  which  he  can  secure  gain  without  honestly  earn- 
ing it.  Lotteries  are  outlaws  not  only  because  they 
defraud  but  they  undermine  integrity  and  honest 
industry. 

When  property  earns  property,  and  the  gain  is 
secured  with  no  struggle  on  his  part,  the  temptation 
is  presented  and  the  disintegration  of  his  character 
has  begun.  When  there  is  no  gain  except  by  pro- 
duction, the  whole  thought  and  energy  of  the  man 
is  directed  to  that  end,  and  his  desire  to  secure  that 


•Effect  on  Character.  211 

earned  by  another  is  restrained.  The  frank,  open  dis- 
position is  preserved.  Honest  productive  toil  drives 
out  the  spirit  of  speculation.  Under  usury,  both 
lender  and  borrower  are  in  the  attitude  of  expectants 
of  unearned  gain. 

3.     It  discourages  the  spirit  of  self-reliance. 

Usury  causes  a  broad  separation  between  a  man 
of  property  and  the  man  of  mere  muscle  or  brain.  It 
makes  such  large  combinations  of  capital  possible  in 
immense  shops  and  department  stores  and  other  en- 
terprises, that  the  individual  workman  is  belittled. 
Under  the  principle  of  usury,  property  can  produce 
as  well  as  brain  or  muscle.  One  having  property  can 
control  both. 

His  property  places  him  in  a  position  as  a  superior. 
He  comes  to  forget  the  relations  he  bears  to  men  as 
equals,  and  requires  that  those  who  have  only  their 
natural  gifts  shall  be  cringing  supplicants  before  him 
or  be  denied  his  favor.  The  borrower  or  the  laborer 
who  asserts  his  rights  is  endangered  by  the  man  con- 
trolling property,  who  has  him  in  his  power. 

That  independent,  self-reliant  spirit,  that  looks 
every  man  in  the  face  as  an  equal  yet  lingers  in  the 
country  among  the  hills  and  mountains,  but  is  fast 
disappearing  from  the  city.  There  has  come  to  the 
laborer  in  the  town  or  city  a  feeling  of  dependence 
upon  others  and  a  desire  to  secure  their  favor.  They 
almost  feel  that  they  must  apologize  for  being  labor- 
ers, and  beg  for  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  living  in 


212      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

some  one's  employ.  One  of  the  saddest  facts,  and 
most  threatening  of  disaster  in  these  present  com- 
mercial conditions,  is  the  common  desire  to  be  em- 
ployed, to  get  a  job,  dependent  on  the  whim  of  an- 
other, instead  of  a  determination  to  direct  one's  own 
labor  and  be  the  manager  of  one's  own  business.  The 
sound  educational  development  is  wanting  in  the 
daily  occupation  of  the  hired  laborer,  and  there  is  a 
loss  of  manhood  that  has  no  compensation. 

The  independent  spirit  slips  away  so  gradually  that 
its  going  is  scarcely  noticed,,  but  when  once  gone  the 
degradation  is  complete. 

A  family  of  free  Hebrews  went  down  into  Egypt, 
and  for  a  long  time  was  in  favor  with  the  rulers,  but 
they  gradually  lost  their  independence  and  became 
more  and  more  servile  and  cringing  until  the 
Egyptian  masters  dared  to  go  into  their  homes  and 
pick  up  their  boy  babies  and  take  them  out  and  drown 
them  as  if  they  were  worthless  puppies. 

The  hopelessness  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  today  is 
more  in  the  cringing  subordination  and  broken  spirit 
of  the  people  than  in  the  oppression  of  the  Sultan. 
His  government  might  be  overthrown  in  a  day,  but 
it  would  take  ages  to  lift  up  that  empire  of  prostrate 
slaves  and  to  cultivate  in  them  the  self-assertion  and 
self-reliance  necessary  to  a  free  people. 

Every  man  who  loves  his  country  and  his  race  must 
view  with  alarm  this  growing  feeling  of  subordination 
and  cringing  disposition.  It  is  the  very  reverse  of 


Effect  on  Character.  213 

that  democratic  spirit  or  consciousness  of  equality 
that  must  prevail  to  secure  the  permanency  of  our 
republican  institutions. 

4.  It  destroys  fraternal  sympathy.  Two  classes 
are  found  in  every  modern  community.  The  one  is 
the  laborers  with  muscle  or  brain,  the  other  class, 
those  whose  property  produces  for  them.  Between 
these  classes  there  is  a  great  wall  fixed.  It  cannot  be 
expected  that  they  will  mingle  harmoniously  and  be 
in  sympathy  in  civil  and  social  relations.  Producing 
and  non-producing  classes  can  never  be  congenially 
associated. 

The  question  is  frequently  discussed  in  church 
circles,  "How  can  the  laboring  man  be  attracted  to 
the  churches?"  The  discussion  often  presumes  that 
the  non-laboring  man  does  find  the  church  congenial. 
If  he  does,  all  efforts  to  win  the  other  class  will  be  in 
vain.  The  church  itself  needs  to  correct  its  teachings 
and  reform  its  spirit. 

The  moral  law  commands  "Six  days  shalt  thou 
work,"  and  there  is  no  release  because  a  man  has 
property.  So  long  as  a  man  has  brain  or  brawn  he 
is  bound  by  that  law.  If  he  is  not,  he  is  not  a  moral 
man,  and  has  no  rightful  place  in  the  church  of  God. 
Honest,  upright,  industrious  Christian  men,  engaged 
in  all  lines  of  production  for  human  needs,  may  be 
congenial  and  co-operate  most  harmoniously,  but 
they  never  can  be  made  comfortable  in  association 


214      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

with  those  who  are  unproductive  and  idle,  yet  living 
in  luxury. 

5.  Usury  promotes  that  "Covetousness  which  is 
idolatry." 

"As  heathens  place  their  confidence  in  idols,  so 
doth  the  avaricious  man  place  his  confidence  in  silver' 
and  gold.  The  covetous  person,  though  he  doth  not 
indeed  believe  his  riches  or  his  money  to  be  God,  yet 
by  so  loving  and  trusting  in  them,  as  God  alone 
ought  to  be  loved  and  trusted  in,  he  is  as  truly  guilty 
of  idolatry  as  if  he  so  believed." 

Idolatry  is  the  act  of  ascribing  to  things  or  persons 
properties  that  are  peculiar  to  God.  The  principal 
objects  of  worship  are  those  things  -which  bring  to 
men  the  greatest  good. 

The  sun  has  been  the  most  general  object  of  idol- 
atrous worship  in  all  the  ages.  It  is  the  most  con- 
spicuous object,  and  is  the  source  of  light  and  heat, 
and  rules  the  seasons.  Its  worship  was  so  general  that 
the  Hebrew  people,  when  they  lapsed  from  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  turned  to  the  worship  of  the  sun  or  Baal. 
No  natural  object  is  more  worthy  of  worship.  Job 
declaring  his  integrity  and  freedom  from  idolatry, 
said  that  he  had  not  kissed  his  hand  in  salute  of  the 
sun  in  his  rising. 

The  river  Nile  was  an  object  of  idolatrous  worship 
for  ages.  Its  source  was  a  mystery,  and  its  annual 
rise  in  its  rainless  valley  was  so  beneficent,  that  it  was 
given  the  worship  which  belonged  to  the  Divine 


Effect  on  Character.  215 

alone.  All  the  hope  of  the  harvest  depended  on  its 
annual  overflow.  It  moistened  and  fertilized  and  pre- 
pared the  ground,  and  then  receded  until  the  harvest 
was  grown  and  gathered.  Moses  showed  the 
Egyptians  the  impotence  of  their  idols  by  making 
this  chief  idol,  and  the  things  that  came  out  of  it,  a 
curse.  The  cow  was  worshiped  because  it  was  the 
most  useful  and  necessary  of  their  animals.  A  real  or 
supposed  power  to  give  or  withhold  favors  has  been 
from  the  beginning  the  source  and  spring  of  idolatry. 

Riches,  property,  as  the  means  of  supplying  our 
needs,  is  an  object  more  coveted  than  any  other.  The 
principle  of  usury  greatly  aggravates  this  tendency. 
The  principle  of  usury  makes  it  imperishable;  it  can 
be  perpetuated,  unimpaired  from  year  to  year  and 
from  age  to  age ;  it  is  a  constant  source  of  benefit ;  it 
is  productive  of  all  that  is  necessary  to  supply  human 
needs. 

It  supplies,  too,  without  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
recipient.  The  sun,  with  his  light  and  heat,  makes 
the  labor  of  the  farmer  successful.  The  rising  Nile 
moistening  and  fertilizing  the  land,  prepares  the  way 
for  the  sower.  The  cow  draws  the  plow  and  the  har- 
row, and  threshes  the  grain,  but  usury  makes  prop- 
erty bring  all  needed  material  good  without  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  owner.  It  brings  him  the  matured 
fruits  of  the  farm,  though  he  neither  plows  or  sows 
nor  reaps.  No  labor  on  his  part  is  needed.  His 
property  clothes  and  feeds  him,  and  yet  does  not 


216      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

grow  less,  but  is  endowed  with  perpetual  youth,  ever 
giving  yet  never  exhausted  or  diminished.  He  may 
die,  but  his  idol  knows  no  decay,  and  may  continue 
to  bless  his  children  through  the  generations.  This 
quality  of  riches  makes  them  a  greater  source  of 
blessing  than  the  sun  or  any  other  object  of  idol- 
atrous worship.  This  leads  to  unlimited  self-denial 
and  sacrifice  to  gain  and  retain  property.  The  de- 
votees subordinate  their  own  ease  and  physical  com- 
fort, their  own  intellectual  development,  to  secure  it, 
they  will  themselves  shrivel  in  body  and  soul;  like 
other  idolaters  they  will  even  yield  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  their  children,  when  this  idol  demands  their 
sacrifice. 

6.  It  destroys  spirituality.  Property  is  matter 
and  not.  spirit.  With  the  thought  and  heart  and 
effort  directed  to  a  material  thing,  the  spirit  is 
neglected.  The  heathen  Greek  artist  directed  his 
whole  attention  to  the  material  part  of  man.  The 
symmetry  of  the  human  physical  form  was  his  study. 
The  perfect  man  was  the  most  symmetrically  de- 
veloped specimen  of  physical  form.  His  thought  of 
man  was  matter.  The  Christian  directs  his  thought 
to  the  spirit,  his  mind  and  heart,  his  noble  purposes, 
and  all  the  qualities  of  true  manhood.  The  material 
part  is  subordinated  to  the  spiritual. 

The  tendency  now  is  to  appreciate  a  man  for  what 
he  has  rather  than  for  what  he  is,  to  ignore  both  sym- 
metry of  form  and  the  graces  of  the  noble  character, 


Effect  on  Character.  217 

and  to  worship  what  he  holds  in  his  hands.  The 
truly  spiritual  loves  true  manhood  and  is  indifferent 
to  the  possessions. 

If  a-  noble  soul  is  found  in  a  Lazarus,  the  true  child 
of  Abraham  will  take  him  to  his  bosom.  A  perverted 
manhood  will  receive  no  favor  though  clothed  and 
surrounded  with  all  material  splendor. 

It  destroys  spirituality,  too,  because  it  holds  the 
mind  to  a  material  thing  as  the  source  of  all  good. 
The  spiritual  man  rises  to  the  true  source  of  our 
blessings,  the  author  of  all  temporal  good,  from 
whose  hand  every  living  thing  is  fed. 

This,  as  all  idolatry,  leads  to  a  breaking  away  from 
the  restraints  of  the  moral  law.  The  devotion  to  the 
material  leads,  logically  and  practically,  to  a  neglect 
of  the  restraints  of  the  spiritual,  and  a  preponderance 
of  subserviency  to  the  material.  Practices  that  will 
promote  the  material  are  indulged  though  the  moral 
law  may  be  broken.  The  material  is  not  held  sub- 
ject to  the  needs  of  the  higher  nature,  nor  subject  to 
the  promotion  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  man's 
noblest  gifts  and  the  worship  of  God  are  all  made, 
if  possible,  to  minister  to  the  material  interests. 

To  break  this  idol's  power,  the  true  nature  of  prop- 
erty must  be  shown.  It  is  not  immortal,  but  perish- 
able. It  can  not  preserve  itself,  but  must  be  carefully 
preserved  by  man's  own  effort.  It  can  not  protect 
him,  but  he  must  protect  it.  It  is  but  a  thing  which 
man  has  himself  made.  It  must  be  shown  absurd,  as 


218      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Isaiah  ridiculed  it,  "They  worship  the  work  of  their 
own  hands,  that  which  their  own  fingers  have  made/' 

Other  forms  of  gross  external  idolatry  are  exposed 
by  the  advancing  light  of  these  progressive  years, 
but  this  musty  old  form  has  taken  new  life  and  now 
receives  the  service  of  the  race.  The  whole  world 
is  running  pell-mell  after  this  idol.  It  stands  in  the 
market  places,  it  is  not  a  stranger  in  the  courts  of 
justice,  and  is  in  high  favor  in  legislative  halls.  Solon 
is  relegated  and  Croesus  is  elected. 

It  is  given  a  high  place  in  the  temple  of  God.  Pious 
Lazarus  is  neglected  but  Dives  is  promoted. 

"What  agreement  hath  the  temple  of  God  with 
idols?" 

Until  this  idol  is  cast  out  the  church  will  and  must 
languish.  Spiritual  life  will  be  low  and  fervor  im- 
possible. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
AX  AT  ROOT  OF  THE  TREE. 

It  is  easier  to  cut  down  an  evil  tree  than  to  climb 
up  and  lop  off  it  branches ;  besides  the  branches  will 
grow  again  if  the  stock  is  left  undisturbed.  It  is 
easier  to  destroy  the  mother  of  vipers  than  it  is  to 
chase  after,  catch  and  kill  her  poisonous  progeny. 
The  reptiles  will  not  become  extinct  while  the  mother 
is  left  to  breed  without  restraint.  There  are  a  large 
number  of  industrial  and  financial  evils  that  derive 
their  strength  from  usury,  which  have  received  the 
close  attention  of  benevolent  reformers,  but  they 
have  not  exposed  the  cause,  nor  have  they  suggested 
a  sufficient  remedy.  That  the  evils  exist  is  apparent 
to  them  all,  but  they  seem  too  high  to  reach  or  too 
swift  to  be  caught. 

It  is  only  possible  to  hint  at  the  prevailing  evils  in 
one  chapter.  It  would  require  a  volume  to  discuss 
them  in  detail  and  to  apply  the  remedy. 

1.  There  is  a  tendency  to  divergence  in  the  ma- 
terial and  financial  conditions  of  men.  Some  are 
growing  richer,  while  others  are  growing  poorer. 

The  prayer  of  Agur,  "Give  me  neither  poverty  nor 
riches,"  is  the  prayer  we  should  offer  and  the  prayer 
we  should  try  ourselves  to  answer.  We  are  to  seek 
freedom  from  poverty  on  the  one  hand  and  from 

219 


220      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

ensnaring  riches  on  the  other.  This  is  the  condition 
we  should  try  to  secure  in  the  community  and  in  the 
commonwealth.  We  should  discourage  excess  of 
riches  and  we  should  endeavor  to  relieve  all  of  dis- 
tressing poverty.  We  should  hedge  about  accumu- 
lation with  such  conditions  as  to  make  it  very  difficult 
to  gain  great  wealth,  and  at  the  same  time  we  should 
so  ease  the  conditions  of  accumulation  that  only 
gross  indolence  or  great  misfortune  could  cause 
dependent  poverty. 

The  so  called  middle  class  are  those  who  neither 
have  great  riches  nor  yet  are  they  in  fear  of  want. 
The  great  mass  of  our  people  belonged  to  this  class 
until  very  recent  times.  Now  we  find  the  excessively 
rich  have  multiplied  and  a  vast  number  of  our  indus- 
trious, honest  and  virtuous  population  are  struggling 
for  life's  necessities.  The  middle  class  is  less  numer- 
ous while  both  those  in  opulence  and  those  in  poverty 
have  been  increasing. 

We  should  level  up  and  level  down  to  the  medium 
which  is  best  for  the  development  of  the  highest  man- 
hood and  best  also  for  the  strength  and  perpetuity  of 
our  republican  institutions. 

The  rich  should  be  limited  in  their  accretions  while 
the  poor  are  lifted  out  of  their  poverty;  but  how  can 
this  be  accomplished  without  interfering  with  individ- 
ual liberty  and  our  personal  rights?  The  problem  is 
not  easily  solved.  While  usury  remains,  which  is  an 
ever  active  centralizing  force  adding  wealth  to  wealth, 


221 

no  remedy  can  be  found.     Do  away  with  usury,  and 
the  evil  is  overcome. 

(a)  When  it  is  recognized  that  vital  energy  alone 
produces  all  wealth,  no  great  fortune  can  be  gathered 
in  the  life  time  of  one  man.    The  earnings  of  any  life, 
however  long,  or  the  earnings  of  a  succession  of  in- 
dustrious, energetic  ancestors,  could  not  amass  a  for- 
tune to  interfere  with  the  rights  and  activities  of 
others. 

One  may  inherit  a  large  fortune  from  wealthy  kin- 
dred ;  he  may  discover  a  fortune ;  he  may  draw  a  grand 
prize  in  a  lottery ;  he  may  as  a  Turk  seize  the  proper- 
ties of  others  and  then  bribe  the  courts  to  confirm 
his  claims ;  or  a  people  may  be  "held  up"  by  law  and 
one,  selfish  and  conscienceless  as  a  ghoul,  may  jump  at 
the  opportunity  and  appropriate  their  earnings  and 
their  property  and  yet  the  robber  keep  out  of  the  peni- 
tentiary; but  no  one,  however  great  his  skill  or  bril- 
liant his  genius,  can  earn  one  million  dollars,  nor  the 
tenth  of  it,  in  his  natural  life.  To  gain  one  million  dol- 
lars one  must  earn  twenty  thousand  dollars  each  year 
for  fifty  years  and  save  it  all.  He  must  spend  nothing 
for  pleasure  nor  benevolence.  He  must  spend  noth- 
ing for  food  nor  for  clothes. 

(b)  Wealth  decays  unless  cared  for  and  preserved. 
As  wealth  increases,  the  task  of  protecting  and  pre- 
serving it  increases.     There  comes  a  time  when  pro- 
duction must  cease,  and  all  energy  will  be  required 
to  preserve  that  already  gained.     When  others  pre- 


222      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

serve  and  pay  a  price  for  the  privilege,  as  in  usury, 
the  vital  energy  can  continue  production,  indefinitely. 

(c)  Abolish  usury  and  the  instant  one  ceases  to 
produce  he  begins  to  consume  that  which  he  has 
earned.     He  can  not  live  upon  the  increase  of  his 
earnings,  but  he  must  begin  at  once  to  diminish  the 
supply.     Exacting  usury  he  may  consume  only  the 
increase  and  preserve  the  principal  untouched.     He 
may  not  consume  all  the  increase  and  add  the  re- 
mainder to  his  capital  and  thus  grow  richer  in  decrepit 
age.     Many  of  those  who  have  not  inherited  wealth, 
have  not  been  wealthy  until  advanced  age.     It  came 
to  them  by  the  accretions  of  interest  after  the  pro- 
ductive period  of  life  was  past. 

(d)  It  is  not  possible  to  secure  perfect  equality  of 
conditions.      If   all    wealth   was    equally    distributed 
today  differences  would  begin  to  appear  tomorrow. 
This  has  seemed   to   some   disheartening   and   they 
abandon  all  hope  of  correcting  the  evil.    They  should 
look  deeper  and    promote    the   natural    and    God- 
ordained  remedy. 

The  natural  force  for  the  preservation  of  the  level 
of  the  ocean  is  gravity.  But  the  surface  is  seldom 
smooth.  The  winds  lash  it  into  fury  and  pile  high 
its  waves,  but  gravity  pulling  upon  every  drop  of 
water  tends  to  draw  it  back  to  its  place  and  smooth 
down  the  surface  again.  The  wind  cannot  build  per- 
manently a  mountain  of  water  in  the  ocean, 


Ax  at  the  Root  of  the  Tree.  223 

The  consumption  and  decay  of  wealth  tends  un- 
endingly to  equalize  the  conditions  of  men.  In  the 
wild  rush  of  the  struggle  for  supremacy  and  gain, 
like  a  whirlwind  in  the  affairs  of  men,  with  their  di- 
verse gifts  and  tastes  and  plans,  there  will  be  in- 
equalities appearing,  but  consumption  and  inevitable 
decay  are  ever  present  leveling  powers.  Usury  sus- 
pends this  beneficent  law  and  aggravates  the  evil, 
making  the  differences  in  condition  permanent  and 
increasing  them. 

Do  away  with  usury  and  there  is  a  natural  limita- 
tion to  riches.  The  rich  will  find  that  he  can  not  grow 
constantly  richer;  not  because  he  is  by  statute  de- 
prived of  any  personal  rights,  but  he  is  hindered  by 
the  natural  law  embedded  in  things  by  the  Creator. 

Do  away  with  usury  and  the  problem  of  poverty 
is  solved.  If  we  credit  vital  energy  with  the  increase 
of  wealth  and  give  the  laborer  all  he  earns,  he  has  a 
fair  and  equal  chance,  and  equity  requires  no  more. 
It  is  justice  and  opportunity,  a  fair  chance,  that  the 
poor  need,  not  pity  and  gifts  of  charity. 

2.  Great  combines  of  capital  in  business  and  es- 
pecially in  industrial  trusts  are  receiving  the  closest 
attention  of  the  thoughtful.  Some  regard  them  as 
the  necessary  result  of  successful  and  enlarging  busi- 
ness. Many  others  regard  them  as  hostile  to  the  pub- 
lic good  and  are  anxiously  seeking  a  means  of  re- 
straining their  great  and  increasing  power. 


224      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

These  were  at  the  first  associations  of  manufac- 
turers who  co-operated  to  maintain  prices.  In  the 
competitive  system  there  is  a  constant  pressure  on 
the  part  of  the  consumer  for  lower  prices.  The  manu- 
facturer who  is  conscientious  and  a  model  employer, 
seeking  to  maintain  prices  sufficiently  high  to  afford 
him  a  profit  and  living  wages  for  his  employes,  must 
ever  be  resisting  this  pressure.  They  united  for  this 
purpose  and  were  benevolent  and  just  in  their  design. 
But  the  manufacturers  were  paying  tribute  on  bor- 
rowed capital.  They  must  meet  the  demands  of 
interest  on  their  debts  and  also  the  wages  of  their 
workmen.  Between  these  two  they  struggled  to 
secure  for  themselves  comfortable  wages.  The 
capitalists,  seeing  the  advantage  of  this  co-operation 
and  the  resultant  profits,  undertook  and  accomplished 
the  combination  of  their  capital  to  secure  for  them- 
selves the  profits  at  first  sought  for  the  operators  and 
their  employes. 

These  great  combines  are  the  natural  result  of  suc- 
cessful business  with  the  practice  of  usury.  They 
threaten  evil. 

The  purpose  and  plan  of  the  present  trust  is 
to  increase  the  increase  of  the  capital;  to  make  the 
capital  more  productive;"  to  bring  larger  returns 
for  the  wealth  invested. 

(a)  They  are  not  organized  for  the  benefit  of  the 
laborer.  The  object  is  to  decrease  the  cost  by  produc- 
ing with  lees  labor.  The  less  the  labor,  other  things 


Ax  at  the  Root  of  the  Tree.  225 

being  equal,  the  greater  the  returns  for  the  capital  in- 
vested. 

(b)  They  are  not  organized  for  the  benefit  of  the 
consumer.     When  they  do  favor  the  consumer  it  is 
only  incidental  and  generally  temporary  to  meet  com- 
petition.   They  make  no  pretence  of  being  benevolent 
in  their  purposes.     They  are  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose of  business  gain. 

(c)  These  capitalists  combine  their  interests  be- 
cause they  can  thereby  secure  a  greater  return  from 
their  investments  than  they  can  by  operating  sepa- 
rately.    They  combine     that  they  may  mutally  in- 
crease the  rate  of  interest  or  dividends  on  their  capi- 
tal.   This  is  the  motive  that  draws  them  into  coopera- 
tion. 

The  learned  and  benevolent  statesmen,  teachers  of 
economy  and  reformers,  have  not  suggested  an  ade- 
quate remedy.  The  remedy  is  not  far  to  find.  Do 
away  with  usury  and  they  will  fall  apart  like  balls  of 
sand;  the  cohesive  power  will  be  gone;  the  cen- 
tralization will  cease  and  the  wealth  will  speedily  re- 
turn to  the  various  individuals  from  whom  it  was 
gathered.  This  remedy  may  seem  heroic,  but  it  is 
a  specific  and  is  the  simplest  of  all  possible  methods. 

3.  How  to  secure  a  just  distribution  of  the  great 
advantages  from  improved  machinery,  new  inven- 
tions  and  new  discoveries,  is  a  problem  that  is  en- 
gaging the  best  thought  of  many  of  the  wise  and 
good.  That  the  present  distribution  is  inequitable 


226      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

and  unfair;  that  it  gives  the  capitalist  an  undue  advan- 
tage over  the  laborer ;  that  it  aggravates  the  difference 
in  conditions,  seems  generally  admitted. 

An  improved  machine,  owned  by  a  capitalist,  en- 
ables one  man  to  do  the  work  that  formerly  required 
ten.  One  man  is  employed  and  the  nine  are  in  com- 
petition for  his  place  and  there  is  no  advance  over  the 
wages  before  the  machine  was  introduced.  The 
owner  of  the  machine  secures  the  gain.  His  wealth 
is  greatly  increased  while  the  laborer  plods  on  with 
his  old  wages.  With  the  new  machine  the  one  man 
produces  what  ten  men  did  before,  but  the  product 
of  the  nine  are  credited  to  the  machine  and  becomes 
the  capitalist's  gain. 

(a)  The  falsehood  on  which  this  claim  rests  must 
be  seen  and  rejected  before  the  evil  can  be  overcome; 
that  the  machine  is  productive.     It  is  but  a  tool  in  the 
hands  of  the  one  man,  who  now  with  it  produces  as 
much  as  ten  men  did  without  it.     If  one  does  the 
work  of  ten  he  earns  the  reward  of  ten.     Because  by 
this  machine  he  multiplies  his  strength,  and  adds  to 
his  efficiency,  he  can  not  justly  be  deprived  of  his  full 
reward. 

(b)  "But  the  machine  is  owned  by  another."    His 
not  owning  the  machine  does  not  change  its  nature 
and  make  it  a  productive  force.    Whether  it  belongs 
to  him  or  to  another,  it  is  his  intelligent  vital  energy 
that  produces  all  that  is  produced.     The  machine  is 
but  his  tool  with  which  he  works. 


Ax  at  the  Root  of  the  Tree.  227 

(c)  "But  the  machine  must  be  paid  for."     Cer- 
tainly, the  inventors  and  skilled  mechanics,  who  pro- 
duced this  wonderful  tool,  should  be  fully  compen- 
sated, but  once  paid  they  have  no  claim  upon  it  or  on 
what  another  may  produce  with  it.    No  honest  work- 
man objects  to  paying  a  good  price  for  good  tools.    It 
is  not  the  purchase  of  tools  by  one  set  of  workmen  of 
another  that  causes  the  unequal  conditions. 

(d)  It  is  the  usurer  or  interest  taker  that  perverts 
the  conditions. 

He  lays  hold  of  those  great  inventions  and  discov- 
eries, like  railroads  and  telegraphs  and  telephones, 
and  demands  a  perpetual  compensation.  He  asks  that 
the  laborer  shall  be  forever  buying  his  tool,  yet  it 
shall  be  never  bought,  that  the  public  shall  be  forever 
paying  for  privileges  and  the  obligation  remain  for- 
ever unmet.  This  is  but  one  of  the  forms  of  usury, 
by  which  wealth  is  heaped  from  the  earnings  of  the 
many. 

4.  The  difficulties  between  employers  and  their 
laborers  do  not  cease.  The  continued  strikes  and 
lock-outs  show  how  general  and  deep  the  trouble  is. 
Laborers  organize  into  unions  to  protect  themselves 
from  discharge  and  to  promote  their  interests.  They 
ask  for  better  wages  and  shorter  hours.  They  urge 
their  petition  with  forceful  arguments;  they  make 
demands  with  an  implied  threat;  they  stop  work  or 
"strike."  Then  follows  a  test  of  strength  and  endur- 


228      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

ance  in  which  both  parties  greatly  suffer  and  both  are 
embittered  and  neither  is  satisfied. 

The  correction  of  this  common  evil  has  received 
close  study  from  those  who  have  the  welfare  of  all 
classes  at  heart  and  wish  to  be  benefactors  of  the  race. 
The  remedies  have  not  been  thorough  but  superficial, 
and  the  benefits  temporary.  The  branches  have  been 
cut  off  but  they  grow  again. 

(a)  The  complaint  of  too  small  wages  implies  that 
more  is  earned  than  is  received ;  but  there  is  no  stan- 
dard recognized  by  which  what  a  man  does  earn  can 
be  measured.    The  capitalist  claims  the  output  as  the 
earnings  of  his  capital  and  his  claim  is  allowed  by 
the  workmen.     The  workmen  may  claim  that  wages 
are  too  small  for  a  comfortable  living.     This  is  not 
a  plea  of  free  workmen,  but  of  slaves  begging  to  be 
better  fed. 

(b)  They  may  complain  of  too  many  hours  of 
labor;  but  the  number  of  hours  of  labor  is  arbitrarily 
fixed.     There  is  no  valid  constant  reason  why  one 
should  wish  to  work  less.     In  the  management  of 
one's  own  work,  and  the  collection  of  his  own  earn- 
ings, there  are  times  when  long  hours,  of  the  strain  of 
labor,  are  necessary,  and  there  are  other  times  when 
ease  can  be  taken.    With  no  standard  of  earnings  or 
time,  it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  a  just  and  satisfactory 
settlement. 

The  reasons  given  sound  to  the  employers  like  the 
pleadings  of  servants  for  richer  food  and  more  play. 


Ax  at  the  Root  of_  the  Tree.  229 

(c)  The  laborer  should  find  a  solid  basal  reason 
for  his  demands.    That  will  be  found  only  in  the  utter 
rejection  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  usury. 

The  selfishness  of  human  nature  will  remain;  con- 
flicts between  men  in  all  conditions  and  all  businesses 
will  remain ;  feuds  and  rivalries  will  remain ;  but  when 
employer  and  employe  are  enabled  to  see  that  capital 
is  dead,  and  decaying,  and  that  all  the  earnings  above 
its  preservation  belong  to  the  laborers,  there  will  be 
a  recognized  and  true  basis  upon  which  the  rightful 
claims  of  each  can  be  adjusted. 

(d)  In  a  co-operative  shop,  where  the  workmen 
are  the  owners,  each  receives  his  share  of  the  gains. 
With  usury  done  away  it  is  possible  for  workmen, 
who  are  poor,  to  ultimately  become  the  owners,  by 
the  accumulation  of  earnings,  but  under  the  pull  of 
the  usurers,  continually  appropriating  the  earnings, 
they  are  doomed  to  hopeless  poverty. 

5.  There  is  a  widespread  determination  to  over- 
come the  evil  of  war.  Non-combatants  are  numer- 
ous and  peace  societies  are  organized  in  all  lands. 
Their  literature  is  widely  distributed  and  their  peti- 
tions, for  the  preservation  of  peace,  are  poured  upon 
every  "power"  that  is  thought  to  have  an  occasion, 
or  a  disposition,  to  engage  in  warfare.  The  waste  of 
treasure  and  blood,  the  cruelties  and  suffering  that 
are  a  military  necessity,  are  pleaded  in  favor  of  peace. 
The  shame  of  intelligent  rational  men  settling  differ- 
ences with  brute  force  is  presented. 


230      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

The  unchristian  spirit,  that  in  this  age  of  light  and 
saving  grace  should  be  so  wanting  in  brotherly  love 
as  to  wish  to  destroy  those  who  harm  us,  is  depre- 
cated. 

When  differences  do  arise  between  nations,  they 
urge  a  just  settlement  or  mutual  concessions.  Or  if 
one  is  found  to  be  unreasonable,  unjust  and  oppres- 
sive, it  is  better  and  more  christian-like,  they  claim,  to 
endure  hardness,  submitting  under  protest,  than  by 
force,  which  the  Master  forbade,  attempt  to  establish 
righteousness. 

Rulers  of  the  greatest  nations  on  the  earth  have  be- 
come conscious  of  the  cruel  burdens  upon  their  peo- 
ple, in  the  support  of  their  great  armaments.  On  the 
invitation  of  the  Czar  of  Russia,  peace  commissioners 
from  many  nations  recently  met  in  The  Hague,  to 
devise  means  by  which  the  burdens  of  armaments 
might  be  diminished  and  actual  warfare  avoided. 
This  peace  council  advised  that  differences  be  sub- 
mitted to  arbitration,  but  while  it  was  yet  speaking 
two  Christian  powers,  began  open  war,  without  hav- 
ing so  "decent  a  regard  to  the  opinions  of  mankind" 
as  to  make  known  to  the  world  the  cause  of  their  con- 
flict. Wars  continue,  and  among  the  most  highly 
civilized  and  enlightened  and  christianized,  in  the 
face  of  the  arguments  and  advice  and  pleadings  of 
non-combatants  and  peace  societies  and  peace  com- 
missions. 

Mammon,  a  sordid  greed  of  gain,  is  now  on  the 


Ax  at  the  Root  of  the  Tree.  231 

world's  throne  and  directs  the  movements  of  the  na- 
tions in  peace  or  war. 

His  purposes  may  be  often  accomplished  in  peace 
by  purchases  of  territory  for  which  interest  bearing 
bonds  are  issued.  The  irritation  or  hurts  between 
peoples  may  be  molified  and  healed  by  indemnities, 
which  also  serve  his  purpose  because  they  necessitate 
the  incurring  of  a  bonded  debt,  interest  bearing. 
But  the  history  of  the  world  for  centuries  proves  that 
a  condition  of  war  is  Mammon's  opportunity  to  foist 
a  debt  upon  a  free  people  and  to  increase  the  burden 
of  those  whose  bonds  he  already  holds. 

His  ears  are  deaf  to  advice  and  reason,  when  ma- 
terial and  commercial  advantages  are  to  be  secured. 
He  cares  not  for  human  suffering  and  shed  blood,  if 
riches  can  be  increased.  When  concessions  can  be 
secured,  and  mortgages  placed,  and  a  people  exploit- 
ed with  profit,  the  cry  of  suffering,  the  pleading  for 
pity  and  the  call  for  justice  are  all  in  vain. 

To  stop  these  modern  wars  they  must  be  made  un- 
profitable to  Mammon.  When  they  are  made  to  de- 
plete his  treasury  and  to  waste  his  wealth,  instead  of 
increasing  it,  he  will  call  a  halt  in  strife,  and  the  gentle 
spirit  of  peace  will  be  permitted  to  hover  over  the  na- 
tions. 

Away  with  national  debts  and  interest  bearing 
bonds,  which  are  the  delight  of  the  usurers.  Make 
present  wealth  bear  the  burden  of  present  duty.  Try 
the  patriotism  of  the  usurers  by  making  war  a  real 


232     Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

sacrifice  of  their  wealth,  while  the  blood  of  others  is 
being  poured  upon  the  field.  Do  not  permit  war  to 
be  an  advantage  to  the  rich  to  increase  his  riches. 
A  patriot's  life  is  given  and  it  goes  out  forever,  let 
wealth  be  no  more  sacred  than  life;  let  it  not  be 
borrowed  but  consumed.  Let  the  rich  grow  poorer 
as  the  war  goes  on,  let  there  be  a  facing  of  utter  pov- 
erty, as  the  patriot  faces  death  on  the  field. 

While  Mammon  is  permitted  this  usury,  his  chief 
tool,  he  will  use  it  for  the  oppression  of  the  world. 
He  will  direct  the  movements  among  the  nations  to 
further  his  ends,  although  it  may  require  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  most  christianized  and  enlightened  of  the 
earth.  The  nations  will  be  directed  in  peace  or  put 
in  motion  in  war  to  make  wealth  increase. 

Give  wealth  its  true  place  as  a  perishable  thing,  in- 
stead of  a  productive  life,  and  wars  will  cease  in  all 
the  earth.  The  holders  of  the  wealth  of  the  world 
will  never  urge  nor  encourage  war,  when  the  property 
destroyed  is  their  own  and  not  to  be  replaced.  When 
wars  are  no  longer  the  usurer's  opportunity,  but  the 
consumption  of  his  wealth,  Mammon  himself  will  beg 
that  swords  may  be  beaten  into  plow-shares  and 
spears  into  pruning-hooks. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

PER  CONTRA;  CHRISTIAN  APOLOGISTS. 

Every  argument  favoring"  the  continuance  of  the 
practice  of  usury  can  be  met  from  the  propositions 
established  in  the  preceding  chapters.  Indeed,  there 
are  no  true  arguments  to  be  presented  in  its  favor. 
Truth  is  consistent  with  truth.  We  are  not  placed 
in  a  dilemma  and  compelled  to  decide  which  are  the 
strongest  of  the  arguments  arrayed  against  each 
other.  We  are  not  deciding  which  is  the  greater  of 
two  blessings  nor  which  the  less  of  two  evils,  but  this 
is  a  question  of  evil  or  good,  of  sin  or  righteousness. 
If  usury  is  wrong  then  every  argument  brought  for- 
ward to  support  it  is  a  falsehood,  though  it  may  be 
covered  with  a  very  beautiful  and  attractive  and  plaus- 
ible form  in  its  presentation. 

1.  The  old  Wilson  Catechism  published  in  Dun- 
dee in  1737  is  perhaps  the  most  familiar  defense. 

"Q.     Is  the  gaining  of  money  by  usury  unlawful? 

"A.    Yes,  Prov.  28:  8.    Psalm  15:  5. 

"Q.    What  is  usury? 

"A.    The  taking  unlawful  profit  for  money  that  is  lent  out. 

"Q.     Is  it  lawful  to  take  any  interest  or  gain  for  money  lent? 

"A.  Yes,  when  it  is  taken  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land, 
and  from  these  who  make  gain  by  it,  by  trading  or  purchasing 
of  lands;  seeing  it  is  equally  just  for  the  owner  of  money  to  ask 
a  share  of  the  profit  which  others  make  by  it,  as  for  the  owner 

233 


234      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

of  the  land  to  demand  farm  from  the  tenant  of  it,  money  being 
improvable  by  art  and  labor  as  well  as  land. 

"Q.  What  is  the  unlawful  profit  for  money,  which  may  be 
called  usury? 

"A.  The  taking  profit  for  money  from  the  poor  who  borrow 
for  mere  necessity,  or  taking  needful  things  from  them  in  pawn 
for  it;  or  the  taking  more  profit  for  any  than  law  allows,  as  these 
who  take  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  in  the  hundred.  Exod.  22:  25, 
26.  Deut.  24:  12,  17.  Ezek.  18:  7,  8. 

"Q.  But  were  not  the  people  of  Israel  discharged  to  take 
any  usury  or  profit  for  lent  money  from  their  brethren?  Deut. 
23:19. 

"A.  This  law  seems  to  have  been  peculiar  to  the  Jewish 
state,  and  that  in  regard  of  their  estates  being  so  divided,  set- 
tled, and  secured  to  their  families  by  the  year  jubilee,  and  their 
not  being  employed  in  trading  or  making  purchases  like  other 
nations,  so  that  they  had  no  occasion  to  borrow  money  but  for 
the  present  subsistence  o<f  their  families.  But  for  strangers, 
who  had  another  way  of  living,  the  Israelites  were  allowed  to 
lend  upon  usury,  and  to  share  with  them  in  their  profits,  Deut. 
23:  20,  which  shows  that  the  taking  of  interest  is  not  oppressive 
in  itself;  for  they  are  frequently  prohibited  to  oppress  a  stranger, 
and  yet  allowed  to  take  usury  from  him.  Exod.  22:21,  and 
23:9." 

The  reader  will  notice  that  the  definition  of  usury 
is  defective.  The  reader  will  also  notice  that  there 
are  no  Scripture  references  given  to  prove  that  any 
interest  can  be  taken.  This  is  singular,  since  through- 
out the  Catechism  Scripture  references  are  profuse  in 
confirmation  of  the  answers.  If  a  single  passage  had 
been  found  that  could  be  twisted  into  an  approval  the 
reference  would  have  been  given.  He  rests  the  per- 
mission to  take  usury  wholly  on  human  reason, 
though  in  direct  opposition  to  the  Scripture  refer- 


Per  Contra;  Christian  Apologists.  235 

ences  he  had  first  given  to  prove  that  the  gaining 
of  wealth  by  usury  was  unlawful.  He  does  not  claim 
to  get  this  answer  from  the  Bible.  He  rests  this  an- 
swer on  the  law  of  the  land  and  the  purposes  of  the 
borrower,  and  says  it  is  not  worse  than  taking  a  rental 
for  land  anyway. 

The  questions  with  regard  to  the  customs  of  the 
people  of  Israel  are  completely  met  in  the  Second 
and  Third  Chapters  of  this  book. 

Fisher,  also,  we  find  from  his  catechism  pub- 
lished in  1753,  thought  it  necessary  to  make  some 
excuse  for  the  custom  in  his  time.  High  interest  he 
finds  condemned,  but  moderate  interest  he  tries  to 
defend. 

"Q.  32.  What  is  it  to  take  usury,  according  to  the  proper 
signification  of  the  word? 

"A.     It  is  to  take  gain,  profit,  or  interest,  for  the  loan  of 
money. 

"Q.  33.     What  kind  of  usury  or  interest  is  lawful? 

''A.  That  which  is  moderate,  easy,  and  no  way  oppressive. 
Deut.  23:20,  compared  with  Ex.  22:21. 

"Q.  34.     How  do  you  prove  that  moderate  usury  is  lawful? 

"A.  From  the  very  light  of  nature,  which  teaches,  that 
since  the  borrower  proposes  to  gain  by  the  loan,  the  lender 
should  have  a  reasonable  share  of  his  profit,  as  a  recompense 
for  the  use  of  his  money,  which  he  might  otherwise  have  dis- 
posed of  to  his  own  advantage.  1  Cor.  8:  13. 

"Q.  35.  What  is  the  usury  condemned  in  scripture  and  by 
what  reason? 

"A.  It  is  the  exacting  of  more  interest  or  gain  for  the  loan 
of  money,  than  is  settled  by  universal  consent,  and  the  laws  of 
the  land.  Prov.  28:8.  'He  that  by  usury,  and  unjust  gain, 


236      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

increaseth  his  substance,  shall  gather  it  for  him  that  will  pity 
the  poor.' 

"Q.  36.  How  do  you  prove  from  scripture,  that  moderate 
usury,  or  common  interest,  is  not  oppression  in  itself? 

"A.  From  the  express  command  laid  upon  the  Israelites 
not  to  oppress  a  stranger,  Ex.  23:  9;  and  yet  their  being  allowed 
to  take  usury  from  him,  Deut.  23:20;  which  they  would  not 
have  been  permitted  to  do,  if  there  had  been  an  intrinsic  evil 
in  the  thing  itself. 

"Q.  37.     Is  it  warrantable  to  take  interest  from  the  poor? 

"A.  By  no  means;  for,  if  such  as  are  honest,  and  in  needy 
circumstances,  borrow  a  small  sum  towards  a  livelihood,  and 
repay  it  in  due  time,  it  is  all  that  can  be  expected  of  them;  and 
therefore  the  demanding  of  any  profit  or  interest,  or  even  taking 
any  of  their  necessaries  of  life  in  pledge,  for  the  sum,  seems  to 
be  plainly  contrary  to  the  law  of  charity.  Ex.  22:25-28.  Ps. 
15:5. 

"Q.  38.  Were  not  the  Israelites  forbidden  to  take  usury 
from  their  brethren,  whether  poor  or  rich?  Deut.  23: 19: 
'Thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury  to  thy  brother.' 

"A.  This  text  is  to  be  restricted  to  their  poor  brethren,  as 
it  is  explained,  Ex.  22:25,  and  Lev.  25:35,  36;  or,  if  it  respects 
the  Israelites  indifferently,  then  it  is  one  of  the  judicial  laws 
peculiar  to  that  people,  and  of  no  binding  force  now." 

In  the  answer  to  the  34th  question  he  appeals  to  the 
light  of  nature.  That  light,  as  he  interprets  it,  may 
be  applied  as  follows.  We  follow  his  language  closely 
and  his  argument  perfectly. 

From  the  very  light  of  nature  which  teaches,  that 
since  the  borrower  of  the  hoe  purposes  to  dig  his  own 
garden  with  it,  the  lender  should  have  a  reasonable 
amount  of  his  garden  dug,  as  a  recompense  for  the 
use  of  the  hoe,  which  he  might  otherwise  have  used 
himself  to  dig  his  own  garden. 


Per  Contra;  Political  Economists.  237 

Fisher  confirms  his  conclusion  with  a  Scripture 
reference  but  it  is  so  irrelevant  that  it  would  seem 
Wilson  was  wiser  in  omitting  Scripture  reference 
altogether.  1  Cor.  8 :  13,  "Wherefore,  if  meat  make 
my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  meat  while  the 
world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend." 

The  only  explanation  the  writer  ever  saw  or  heard 
of,  that  was  seriously  made  was  this:  "If  using  my 
brother's  money  without  interest  offends  him,  then 
I  will  never  while  the  world  standeth  accept  his  money 
without  interest  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend." 
If  this  is  the  intended  application  then  it  may  be 
further  applied.  If  using  a  brother's  money  at  six 
per  cent,  offends  him  then  I  will  surely  give  him  ten 
per  cent,  lest  I  cause  my  brother  offence.  Could  there 
be  a  more  absurd  application  of  a  Scripture  passage  ? 

The  later  theologians  have  seldom  mentioned  usury 
and  none  have  discussed  it  at  any  length,  and  no 
divine  to  our  knowledge  has  undertaken  a  defence. 
The  "Systematic  Theology"  of  Dr.  Charles  Hodge 
is  perhaps  the  most  elaborate  and  exhaustive.  He 
does  not  more  than  refer  to  usury;  he  does  not  even 
mention  it  by  name.  But  in  his  discussion  of  the  vio- 
lation of  the  eighth  commandment,  he  ridicules  the 
idea  that  "a  thing  is  worth  what  it  is  worth  to  the  man 
who  demands  it."  He  says :  "If  this  be  so,  then  if  a 
man  perishing  from  thirst  is  willing  to  give  his  whole 
estate  for  a  glass  of  water  it  is  right  to  exact  that 
price;  or  if  a  man  in  danger  of  drowning  should  offer 


238      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

a  thousand  dollars  for  a  rope,  we  might  refuse  to 
throw  it  to  him  for  a  less  reward.  Such  conduct  every 
man  feels  is  worthy  of  execration." 

He  closes  the  discussion  of  the  eighth  command- 
ment with  this  significant  and  emphatic  sentence : 
"Many  who  have  stood  well  in  society  and  even  in  the 
church  will  be  astonished  at  the  last  day  to  find  the 
word  'Thieves'  written  after  their  names  in  the  great 
book  of  judgment." 

2.     "To  prohibit  usury  is  revolutionary." 

Revolutions  are  not  necessarily  evil.  They  have 
been  justified  in  all  the  ages  to  overthrow  tyranny  and 
oppression  and  to  secure  freedom  and  establish  jus- 
tice. Oppressors  and  evil-doers  in  power  have  ever 
been  anxious  to  maintain  the  "statu  quo" :  that  is,  to 
be  let  alone.  The  "Man  of  Galilee"  is  the  prince  of 
revolutionists.  He  has  overthrown  and  turned  down 
the  civilizations  of  the  world  and  has  brought  in  his 
own,  called  by  his  name,  Christian  civilization.  His 
followers  were  revolutionists.  The  idolatrous  crafts- 
men of  Ephesus,  not  wishing  to  be  disturbed  in  their 
profitable  business,  in  order  to  defeat  the  work  of 
Paul  and  his  associates,  raised  the  cry  of  revolution. 
"These  that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down  have 
come  hither  also." 

The  things  that  are  wrong  side  up  must  be  re- 
volved. When  material  things  are  found  superior  to 
true  manhood  and  womanhood,  they  must  be 
reversed.  When  the  works  of  men's  hands  are  given 


Per  Contra;  Political  Economists.  239 

a  place  above  the  hands  that  formed  them,  when  the 
results  of  labor  are  given  a  place  above  the  vital 
energy  of  the  laborer,  there  is  call  for  revolution. 

But  this  revolution  should  be  the  most  peaceful  the 
world  ever  saw.  This  need  not  require  the  destruc- 
tion of  any  property  nor  the  shedding  of  one  drop  of 
blood.  It  need  interfere  with  no  man's  rights  nor 
enforce  upon  any  man  a  burden  he  should  not  be  will- 
ing to  bear.  A  man  is  not  interfering  with  the  rights 
of  another  when  he  is  paying  his  debts,,  and  a  man 
should  not  feel  that  there  is  placed  upon  him  a  burden 
he  is  unwilling  to  carry,  when  his  own  property  is 
returned  to  him.  Yet  that  is  the  ultimate,  the 
extreme  goal,  to  be  reached  by  the  abolition  of  usury ; 
every  man  free  from  debt  and  every  man  caring  for 
his  own  property. 

3.  "If  usury  is  not  permitted,  the  great  modern 
enterprises  are  impossible." 

A  great  modern  enterprise  that  is  not  for  the  gen- 
eral good  has  no  right  to  be.  Splendid  enterprises  are 
often  made  possible  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  welfare  of 
the  many  for  the  interests  of  the  few.  The  splendid 
plantations  of  the  southern  states  flourished  in  time  of 
slavery,  when  the  labor  of  many  was  subordinate  to 
the  welfare  of  one.  They  are  not  now  possible;  yet 
the  present  and  future  general  good  is  better  secured 
by  the  sacrifice  of  the  splendid  past.  A  splendid  mili- 
tary campaign  is  only  possible  by  the  complete  sub- 
ordination of  the  many  to  the  will  and  order  of  the 


240      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

commanding  head.  One  hundred  thousand  in  an 
army  is  now  receiving  the  attention  of  the  world. 
One  hundred  thousand  in  happy  homes  are  common- 
place. The  pyramids  are  splendid  monuments,  but 
they  were  not  a  blessing  to  the  slaves,  who  built  them. 

Splendid  enterprises  in  which  the  few  command  the 
many  may  be  an  unmitigated  curse. 

"Ye  friends  to  truth,  ye  statesmen  who  survey 
The  rich  man's  joys  increase,  the  poor's  decay ; 
JTis  yours  to  judge,  how  wide  the  limits  stand, 
Between  a  splendid  and  a  happy  land." 

No  enterprise,  however  brilliant,  can  be  in  the 
model  state,  that  blesses  the  few  by  the  losses  of  the 
many. 

Great  and  benign  enterprises  are  possible  without 
usury.  There  is  no  greater  enterprise  than  the  postal 
system  in  this  land  and  extending  to  all  the  nations 
in  the  postal  union.  You  owe  it  nothing;  like  poor 
Richard,  "you  pay  as  you  go/'  It  owes  nothing,  pays 
no  interest  and  renders  a  great  service  'for  the  small 
amount  you  pay.  It  is  a  standing  illustration  of  the 
success  of  a  strictly  cash  business. 

The  great  benevolent  missionary  enterprises,  that 
send  their  messengers  to  all  lands,  over  the  whole 
earth,  receive  and  disburse  the  gifts  of  the  benevolent. 
Their  work  is  not  interrupted,  but  continues  from  age 
to  age. 

The  commerce  of  the  world  can  be  carried  on  just 
as  effectively  without  usury.  A  mortgage  does  not 


Per  Contra;  Political  Economists.  241 

make  a  farm  more  productive  nor  does  a  bonded  debt 
make  a  railroad  or  a  navigation  company  more  effi- 
cient. The  railroads  and  express  and  telegraph  and 
telephone  and  other  enterprises  are  greatly  hindered 
in  the  service  of  the  public  by  the  tribute  they  are 
returning  to  the  usurers.  Had  this  farmer  not  this 
mortgage  he  could  improve  his  farm  and  bring  from 
his  land  better  results.  Were  it  not  for  the  unceasing 
drain  upon  the  income  of  great  enterprises  to  meet 
the  interest  on  bonds,  the  properties  could  be  im- 
proved and  the  public  better  served  at  greatly  reduced 
rates.  Indeed  the  most  successful  enterprises  are  now 
operated  by  the  owners. 

4.  "It  will  be  hard  to  borrow,  if  you  will  not  pay 
interest." 

It  would  be  a  happy  condition  if  no  one  should 
want  to  borrow  except  in  urgent  need  from  an  acci- 
dental strait ;  if  that  old  independent,  self-reliant  spirit 
that  refused  to  be  indebted  to  any  man  could  be  uni- 
versal, that  preferred  frank  and  honest  poverty  in  a 
cabin,  to  a  sham  affluence  in  a  mortgaged  palace. 

It  should  be  hard  to  borrow,  but  easy  to  pay. 
Usury  makes  it  easy  to  borrow,  but  hard  to  repay. 
Usurers  even  make  it  attractive  and  entice  the  victim 
into  the  trap  of  debt  and  then  it  is  all  but  impossible 
to  find  a  way  out.  An  honest,  industrious  man  of 
good  habits  must  be  ever  on  the  alert  or  he  will  be 
entangled,  sooner  or  later,  with  debts. 

It  will  not  be  harder  for  an  honest  man,  who  is  in 


242      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

need,  to  borrow.  He  will  not  be  able  to  borrow  more 
than  his  need  requires.  The  debt  will  not  increase 
during  the  period  of  disability,  and  it  will  be  easier  to 
repay  without  increase.  The  usurer  requires  more 
than  honesty  for  the  security  of  his  loan.  The  loan 
to  him  is  precious  seed,  that  must  be  planted  where 
it  will  grow.  To  merely  have  the  loan  returned  with- 
out increase  does  not  meet  his  claim.  To  remit  the 
increase,  to  make  it  easier  for  the  poor  debtor  to  pay, 
he  would  regard  as  a  positive  loss  to  himself  and  a 
gift  to  his  victim.  The  usurer  prefers  rich  debtors, 
who  have  abundant  property  to  secure  the  loan  and 
its  increase. 

There  is  a  despised  class  of  pawn  usurers  who  prey 
upon  the  poor.  They  are  regarded  as  robbers  of  the 
poor  in  their  distresses,  but  their  business  would  be 
impossible,  were  it  not  that  all  avenues  of  relief  are 
closed  by  usury;  "interest  must  be  paid  anywhere; 
why  not  borrow  of  them  though  the  rates  are  high?" 
The  moral  quality  of  the  act  is  the  same;  the  dif- 
ference is  wholly  in  the  degree  of  turpitude. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
PER  CONTRA;  LAND  RENTALS. 

"If  no  interest  should  be  charged  on  money,  then 
no  rents  should  be  collected." 

The  early  Christian  apologists  for  usury,  who  felt 
it  imperative  to  explain  why  it  was  permitted  and 
practiced  among  Christians,  found  few  arguments. 
They  all  agreed  that  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Scrip- 
tures forbade  lending  to  the  poor,  upon  interest. 
They  also  found  it  impossible  to  show  from  reason 
the  right  of  money  to  an  increase,  but  as  money  can 
readily  be  changed  into  other  forms  of  property,  as 
lands,  they  reversed  the  arguments;  beginning  with 
the  assumed  premise  that  it  is  right  to  charge  rental 
for  lands,  and  as  money  may  represent  lands,  it  is 
therefore  right,  they  say,  to  charge  interest  on  money. 

"It  seems  as  lawful  for  a  man  to  receive  interest  for 
money,  which  another  takes  pains  with,  improves, 

but  runs  the  hazard  in  trade,  as  it  is  to  receive  rent 
for  our  land,  which  another  takes  pains  with,  im- 
proves, but  runs  the  hazard  of  in  husbandry." 

True  logic  would  have  led  them  to  reason  forward 
from  the  truth  they  had  determined;  tint  ther-  is  no 
valid  reason  justifying  interest  on  money.  Resting  on 
this  truth,  and  then  discovering  that  money  may 

243 


244      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

represent  lands,  the  necessary  conclusion  must  be, 
that  land  rentals  are  without  justice.  Reversing  the 
order  of  their  argument,  they  assumed  a  false  premise, 
and  from  it  attempted  to  prove  true  the  very  propo- 
sition they  had  found  to  be  false. 

There  is  the  usury  of  lands  as  well  as  of  "money  or 
victuals." 

Forty  years  ago  the  Omaha  Indians  went  across 
the  river  and  cut  some  fine  grass  growing  on  open 
land,  and  carried  it  to  their  reservation.  The  owner 
of  the  land,  living  in  a  distant  state,  learning  of  this, 
claimed  pay  of  the  Indians  and  brought  suit  against 
them  before  the  agent  to  recover  it.  The  Indians 
admitted  that  they  had  cut  and  taken  the  grass;  they 
also  admitted  its  value.  Their  defense  was  that  this 
man  had  no  right  superior  to  theirs.  This  was  a 
natural  growth  that  had  cost  him  no  labor,  and  they 
had  not  injured  the  land.  Their  speaker  said,  "If  the 
man  had  dug  the  land  and  planted  it  in  corn  and  hoed 
and  tended  the  corn,  the  corn  would  have  been  his; 
but  the  Great  Spirit  made  the  grass  grow  and  this 
man  gave  it  no  labor  nor  care ;  the  buffalo  or  the  cattle 
could  eat  it.  Have  we  not  the  rights  of  the  cattle? 
This  man  has  no  right  to  it." 

The  agent  decided  against  them  and  compelled 
them  to  pay  the  man.  They  were  much  dissatisfied 
and  felt  they  were  unjustly  treated  and  oppressed, 
because  they  had  to  pay  that  which  the  man  had  never 
earned.  The  red  men  were  not  versed  in  legal  statutes 


Per  Contra;  Land  Rentals.  245 

nor  educated  in  the  tutelage  of  usury,  but  it  can  not 
be  denied  that  they  interpreted  very  accurately  the 
law  written  in  the  reason  and  conscience :  that  no  man 
has  any  especial  claim  to  that  which  he  has  not  earned. 

The  convictions  of  white  men,  arid  their  method  of 
compelling  absentee  owners  to  pay  for  the  increase 
in  value  of  their  lands,  came  under  the  writer's  obser- 
vation in  a  new  settlement  near  the  Indians'  reserva- 
tion. He  found  three  poor  families  in  a  district. 
They  had  little  land  and  extremely  plain  homes,  but 
there  was  a  good  school-house  and  a  good  school  and 
an  expensive  bridge  had  been  built  across  a  stream  to 
enable  one  of  the  families  to  reach  it.  Enquiring  how 
they  could  afford  to  erect  such  improvements  and 
support  such  a  school,  they  replied  that  the  lands  all 
around  them  were  owned  by  absentees,  speculators 
in  the  east,  who  were  holding  the  lands  for  the  ad- 
vance in  value,  which  they,  in  their  struggling  poverty, 
should  make  by  the  improvement  of  the  country, 
when  they  would  gather  in  an  "unearned  increment." 
They  said  they  had  the  power  to  levy  taxes  for  bridges 
and  for  schools  and  they  had  determined  to  make  the 
absentees  in  this  way  compensate  them,  in  part,  for 
the  increment  they  were  earning  for  them. 

The  conviction  of  right  and  justice  in  the  white 
settler  did  not  differ  from  the  innate  and  untutored 
argument  of  the  Indian.  The  Indians  felt  oppressed 
because  they  were  compelled  to  pay  the  man  for  what 
that  man  had  never  earned.  The  white  settlers  deter- 


246      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

mined  to  thwart  the  purpose  of  the  absentee  owners 
to  gain  an  increment  from  their  sacrifice  and  labor. 

The  landlord  has  a  right  to  all  that  he  has  produced. 
When  he  has  cleared  away  the  forest  or  broken  up  the 
land;  when  he  has  planted  the  vineyard  and  builded 
the  winepress,  he  has  a  right  to  let  this  out  to  hus- 
bandmen to  gather  the  fruits  of  his  preparation  and 
planting  and  to  share  with  them  in  the  proportion 
each  has  contributed  to  the  production,  but  to  hold 
all  that  he  himself  has  produced  and  yet  claim  a  part 
of  the  product  of  another,  is  usury.  A  farmer  retires 
from  his  farm  because  no  longer  able  or  willing  to 
continue  its  cultivation.  He  has  an  undisputed  right 
to  a  full  reward  for  all  his  own  labor,  and  for  all  he  has 
purchased  from  others  that  he  leaves  in  the  farm. 
There  must  be  a  compensation  for  the  transformation 
of  the  wilderness  into  a  farm  at  the  first,  for  the  fer- 
tility that  may  have  been  added  to  the  soil,  for  the 
orchards,  vineyards,  houses,  barns  and  every  im- 
provement he  may  have  made  and  left  on  the  farm. 
He  has  an  undisputed  right  to  all  the  labor  remaining 
in  the  farm.  If  he  sells  he  expects  compensation  for 
all  this. 

But  if  he  sells,  he  must  begin  at  once  to  consume 
its  price,  unless  he  becomes  a  usurer  and  is  supported 
by  the  interest.  If  he  does  not  sell,  but  retains  his 
farm,  he  must  also  begin  at  once  to  consume  the  farm. 

For  him  to  demand  of  his  tenant  that  the  farm  shall 
remain  as  valuable  as  when  he  left  it,  the  soil  not 


Per  Contra;  Land  Rentals.  247 

permitted  to  become  less  fertile,  the  buildings  to  be 
kept  from  decay  and  restored  when  destroyed,  the 
orchards  to  be  kept  vigorous  and  young  by  the  plant- 
ing of  new  trees  and  vines;  in  short,  the  farm  to  be 
preserved  in  full  value  and  yet  pay  a  rental,  is  usury 
in  land. 

The  preservation  of  a  farm  or  land  and  its  restora- 
tion to  the  owner  unimpaired  after  a  term  of  years 
involves  far  more  than  persons  not  informed  suppose. 
It  seems  to  them  unreasonable  to  farm  a  field  and 
only  return  the  unimpaired  field  to  the  owner. 

While  land  is  stable  and  possibly  the  most  easily 
preserved  of  all  forms  of  property,  at  least  a  thief 
cannot  carry  it  away,  yet  the  preservation  of  land 
involves  great  care  and  risk. 

The  taking  of  any  crop  from  any  land  reduces  its 
fertility.  On  the  virgin,  western  fertile  lands  the 
farmers  laughed  at  the  thought  that  they  should  ever 
need  to  return  fertilizers,  but  it  was  only  a  few  years 
until  they  yearned  for  the  fertility  they  had  extrava- 
gantly wasted.  Buildings  inevitably  decay  and  they 
may  be  destroyed  by  fire  or  storm.  Orchards  may  be 
overturned  by  a  cyclone  or  be  destroyed  by  blight  or 
by  the  thousand  enemies  of  the  various  varieties  of 
fruit  trees.  The  land  may  be  injured  by  washing  that 
may  require  years  to  repair.  A  single  storm  has 
destroyed  fields  in  this  way  that  never  can  be  restored. 
Noxious  weeds  take  possession  of  land  that  can  only 
be  eradicated  by  infinite  pains.  In  this  state  certain 


248      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

weeds  are  declared  outlaws  and  must  be  destroyed  by 
the  farmer  for  the  protection  of  his  neighors.  The 
farmer  in  this  locality  must  have  an  alert  eye  for 
Canada  thistles  and  oxeye  daisy.  It  often  causes  more 
labor  to  eradicate  them  than  the  land  is  worth  on 
which  they  are  growing. 

If  the  annual  renter  was  required  to  give  bond  for 
the  return  of  the  farm  unimpaired,  returning  that 
which  the  crops  and  time  must  consume  and  destroy, 
taking  all  risks  of  every  character  upon  himself,  a 
thoughtful  man,  though  poor  and  needing  the  oppor- 
tunity, would  hesitate.  It  might  involve  him  in  an 
obligation  he  could  not  discharge  in  his  whole  life 
through  conditions  and  providences  over  which  he 
has  no  control. 

Practically  in  this  country  the  owner  renting  a  farm 
from  year  to  year  does  consume  it.  It  begins  at  once 
to  decline  in  fertility,  the  improvements  begin  to  fall 
into  decay,  weeds  take  possession,  washes  occur  and 
are  not  repaired,  and  in  a  few  years  the  half  of  the 
value  is  gone.  The  owner  is  fortunate  if  he  has 
received  in  rentals  sufficient  to  restore  its  former 
value. 

Under  a  system  of  perpetual  tenantry  the  case  is 
different.  If  the  fertility  declines  it  is  the  tenant's  loss. 
The  improvements  are  his  and  may  be  sold  as  one 
could  sell  ordinary  farm  tools,  but  not  to  be  removed. 
If  they  are  impaired  or  destroyed  it  does  not  affect 
the  annual  rental. 


Per  Contra;  Land  Rentals.  249 

The  landed  proprietor  in  city  or  country,  who  has 
permanent  tenants,  who  are  required  to  make  every 
improvement  and  keep  up  perfectly  the  fertility,  and 
who  pay  an  annual  rental,  is  in  the  same  class  as  those 
who  are  receiving  annual  interest.  The  landlord  prac- 
tically holds  a  perpetual  mortgage,  and  the  rental  is 
the  interest  or  increase  exacted  generation  after  gen- 
eration. 

The  debtor  working  under  a  mortgage  is  cheered 
by  the  hope  that  he  may  be  able,  some  day,  to  lift  it, 
but  the  perpetual  tenant  on  entailed  lands  knows  that 
he  is  doomed  to  hopeless  tenantry.  He  can  never 
own  the  land  and  he  is  in  the  power  of  the  landlord, 
who  is  often  oppressive. 

Calvin,  in  his  letter  of  apology  for  usury  of  money, 
speaks  of  the  injustice  of  the  landlords  in  requiring  a 
rental  for  "some  barren  farm"  and  of  the  "harsher" 
conditions  imposed  upon  the  tenants.  Indeed  his 
whole  argument,  when  summed  up,  is,  that  the  usury 
of  lands  is  more  cruel  and  oppressive  than  the  usury. 
of  money. 

While  it  is  not  yet  true  in  America,  yet  considering 
the  landlordships  of  Ireland  and  Great  Britain  and  the 
older  countries,  with  their  unremitted  exactions, 
grinding  the  life  out  of  their  tenants  for  a  mere  sub- 
sistence, it  is  likely  that  the  race  is  today  suffering 
more  from  the  injustice  and  oppression  of  usury  of 
land  than  from  the  usury  of  money. 


250      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

The  land  question  is  too  large  for  one  short  chapter 
or  for  one  small  book.  It  requires  more  and  deeper 
study  than  the  subject  has  ever  yet  received.  The 
ownership  of  lands  cannot  be  absolute;  it  must  be 
limited  by  the  rights  of  those  who  live  upon  them,  but 
the  limitations  have  never  yet  been  clearly  defined.  If 
a  man  has  a  right  to  live  he  must  have  a  right  to  a 
place  to  live.  If  a  child  has  a  right  to  be  born  it  must 
have  a  right  to  a  place  to  be  born.  It  cannot  be  that 
the  mass  of  our  race  only  touch  the  earth  by  the 
sufferance  of  those  who  claim  to  own  it. 

The  unprecedented  rapidity  of  the  development 
of  this  country  is  owing  more  to  its  wise  and  benefi- 
cent land  laws  than  to  anything  else.  They  are  not 
perfect  but  the  most  favorable  to  the  landless  that 
the  world  has  ever  known.  No  landlordism,  no  bind- 
ing up  lands  by  entail  to  make  it  forever  impossible 
to  gain  a  title  to  a  portion  of  the  soil,  but  our  land 
laws,  wisely  devised,  gave-  hope  of  a  home  to  the 
homeless  everywhere.  The  result  was  that  our  people 
from  the  eastern  part  of  our  own  country,  and  the 
landless  from  across  the  seas,  swarmed  over  the 
mountains  and  filled  the  Ohio  valley  and  pushed  on 
to  the  great  Mississippi  and  Missouri  valleys,  and  in 
three  generations  have  transformed  this  waste  into 
happy  homes.  The  possession  of  land,  of  a  home, 
ennobles  the  character,  produces  a  patriotic  love  of 


Per  Contra;  Land  Rentals.  251 

this  country  and  stimulates  devotion  to  her  institu- 
tions. The  landless  foreigner  who  makes  here  a  home 
of  his  own  is  unwavering  in  his  loyalty  to  the  country 
of  his  adoption.  Those  foreigners,  who  do  not  fall  in 
love  with  our  institutions  and  do  not  become  assim- 
ilated with  our  people,  are  tenants  here  as  they  were 
before  they  came  here.  They  are  not  attached  to  our 
soil ;  they  do  not  secure  homes  of  their  own  and  are 
therefore  restless  and  a  menace. 

A  dangerous  tendency  has  been  developing 
throughout  our  whole  land  in  these  later  years.  The 
usury  oHands  is  on  the  increase,  Tenantry  is  becom- 
ing more  common  on  the  farms  in  the  country,  while 
the  mass  of  our  city  populations  are  living  in  rented 
houses  or  flats  or  crowded  tenements. 

The  yearning  for  a  home  of  one's  own  is  deeply 
imbedded  in  human  nature.  To  be  denied  the  privi- 
lege of  living  in  one's  own  house  is  one  of  the  greatest 
trials  of  a  life.  This  tendency  to  tenantry  is  not 
because  our  people  have  come  to  care  less  for  a  home 
of  their  own,  but  the  conditions  are  not  such  as  to 
make  a  purchase  of  a  home  profitable ;  the  interest  on 
the  purchase  price  is  greater  than  the  usury  of  the 
land  or  rental.  The  natural  and  desirable  state  is  for 
every  family  to  own  and  occupy  their  home,  and  those 
conditions  should  be  encouraged  which  make  it 


252      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

unprofitable  for  any  one  to  own  real  property  he  does 
not  himself  occupy,  and  which  make  it  easy  and 
profitable  for  every  family  to  own  their  own  home. 

When  all  lands  are  owned  by  those  who  occupy 
them,  the  prophet  Micah's  picture  of  the  millennial 
dawn  will  be  realized.  Every  man  shall  sit  under  his 
own  vine  and  under  his  own  fig  tree  and  no  one  shall 
molest  him  or  make  him  afraid,  by  demanding  a  rental 
or  by  serving  a  writ  of  ejectment. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
PER  CONTRA;  POLITICAL  ECONOMIST. 

The  students  of  political  economy  are  not  always 
reformers.  It  is  not  their  purpose  nor  the  object  of 
their  studies  to  transform  society.  They  only 
endeavor  to  explain  why  things  are  as  they  are.  They 
find  the  taking  of  usury  all  but  universal,  and  they 
endeavor  to  give  the  reasons  for  the  prevailing  cus- 
tom. The  subject  is  usually  but  slightly  touched 
upon  and  dismissed  with  a  few  sentences. 

Few  economists  claim  that  interest  or  rental  is  a 
part  of  the  cost  of  production.  They  mostly  affirm 
that  it  is  no  part  of  production ;  that  it  is  merely  the 
price  paid  for  the  opportunity  to  produce.  The  lender 
of  money  makes  a  loan  to  the  borrower  and  thus  gives 
him  a  better  opportunity  to  produce  than  he  had 
before.  The  landlord  for  the  rental  withdraws  his 
hand  from  over  his  land  and  gives  the  renter  the 
opportunity  to  produce  a  harvest. 

In  justification,  or  at  least  in  explanation  of  this 
exaction  for  an  opportunity,  three  reasons  are  usually 
given.  These  may  be  briefly  stated  as  risk,  time  and 
abstinence. 

1.  There  is  some  risk  in  every  investment.  There 
is  a  possibility  that  the  most  honest,  industrious  and 

253 


254      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

careful  debtor  may  by  some  misfortune  not  be  able 
to  return  the  loan  and  it  would  therefore  be  lost.  To 
guard  against  this  the  usurer  requires  the  rate  of 
interest  to  be  graded  by  the  measure  of  risk. 

^  This  is  claimed  to  be  of  the  nature  of  insurance,  the 
borrower  paying  the  premium.  The  profits  of  insur- 
ance are  secured  by  collecting  a  larger  premium  than 
necessary  to  pay  all  losses.  On  this  theory,  the  gain 
of  usury  is  in  the  excess  that  can  be  secured  of  in- 
crease over  the  amounts  lost. 

This  is  the  reverse  of  insurance.  Insurance  is  the 
payment  by  an  owner  of  property  to  a  company  who 
guarantees  its  preservation.  Usury  is  .the  payment  by 
the  company  to  the  owner  for  the  privilege  of  guaran- 
teeing that  he  shall  not  suffer  loss. 

Business  involves  a  risk  usually  covered  by  insur- 
ance, but  no  honest  man  expects  to  make  a  profit  out 
of  his  insurance.1 

2.  A  loan  is  made  for  a  more  or  less  extended 
time.  Time  is  therefore  claimed  to  be  a  ground  for 
usury  charges. 

This  claim  rests  on  the  assumption  that  time  will 
increase  wealth.  But  time  is  the  great  destroyer ;  time 
does  not  make  gardens  and  farms,  but  covers  them 
with  weeds  and  sends  them  back  to  a  wilderness ;  time 
does  not  erect  a  house,  but  pulls  it  down ;  time  does 
not  build  a  city,  but  causes  it  to  crumble  and  a  few 
ages  buries  it  under  the  dust ;  time  does  not  "incubate 


Per  Contra;  Political  Economist.  255 

€ggs,  but  turns  them  putrid;  it  does  not  transform 
into  fowls.  If  eggs  are  developed  into  chickens  the 
difference  between  eggs  and  chickens  is  the  reward  of 
the  incubator." 

Aside  from  the  spirit  of  benevolence  and  sympathy 
with  the  needy  there  are  three  selfish  reasons  why  a 
time  loan  may  be  made.  First,  the  owner  has  no 
present  need  of  it  and  wishes  to  be  rid  of  its  care.  Sec- 
ond, the  owner  shall  need  it  at  a  distant  date  and  he 
wishes  it  preserved  intact  against  that  time.  But  these 
afford  no  ground  for  a  charge  of  increase.  He  who 
stands  and  resists  the  ravages  of  time  until  the  day  it 
is  needed  does  a  positive  service  and  deserves  a  re- 
ward. Third,  the  lender  wishes  to  appropriate  the 
earnings  of  another  during  the  period  of  time  given. 
This  is  the  usurer's  reason,  and  were  it  not  for  this 
time  would  lose  its  importance  as  an  element;  it  is 
certain  that  long  time  loans  would  not  be  so  attract- 
ive. 

3.  "The  reward  of  abstinence"  is  a  reward  for 
refraining  from  consuming  one's  own  wealth. 

"You  can  not  have  your  cake  and  eat  it.  If  you  do 
not  eat  it,  you  have  your  cake,  but  not  a  cake  and  a 
half.  Not  a  cake  and  a  quarter  tomorrow,  dunce, 
however  abstinent  you  may  be,  only  the  cake  you 
have,  if  the  mice  do  not  eat  it  in  the  night." — Ruskin. 

The  usual  illustration  is  that  of  Jacob.  He  prac- 
ticed abstinence  in  refraining  from  eating  the  bowl  of 


256      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

pottage  and  giving  it  to  his  hungry  brother.  The 
reward  of  his  abstinence  was  his  brother's  birthright. 

If  I  do  not  take  my  soup  now  it  is  a  great  favor  to 
have  it  preserved  for  me  and  served  later,  not  cold 
and  stale,  but  fresh  and  hot.  If  I  deny  myself  now, 
for  any  cause,  I  can  ask  no  more  than  that  my  meal 
shall  be  served,  perfectly,  later.  This  was  all  that 
Jacob  could  in  justice  demand  of  Esau. 

It  should  be  remembered,  that  because  Jacob  took 
Esau's  birthright,  as  a  reward  of  his  abstinence,  he 
was  accounted  a  robber,  was  compelled  to  flee  from 
his  home,  and  not  for  twenty  years  see  his  father's 
face;  that  the  consciousness  of  this  sin  and  of  the  mer- 
ited vengeance  of  the  brother,  whom  he  thereby  de- 
frauded and  whom  he  thought  was  on  his  track, 
caused  that  night  of  struggle  when  he  could  not  let 
the  angel  go,  until  he  had  his  promise  of  deliverance. 

Abstinence,  to  be  benevolent,  must  be  an  act  of 
personal  loving  self-sacrifice  for  another.  Benevo- 
lent abstinence  is  its  own  reward  and  asks  no  more. 
Abstinence  in  hope  of  gain,  denying  himself  while 
another  is  using  his  wealth,  cannot  be  regarded  as  an 
act  of  benevolence,  but  of  a  selfish  grovelling  greed; 
more  gratified  to  see  his  wealth  increase  than  to 
himself  enjoy  its  use.  That  is  the  spirit  of  the  miser 
and  receives  the  contempt  of  all  right  thinking  people. 

That  the  political  economists  are  right  in  their 


Per  Contra;  Political  Economist.  257 

analysis  of  the  common  thought  of  usury;  that  risk, 
time  and  abstinence  are  the  elements  of  its  basis  in  the 
popular  mind,  may  not  be  denied,  but  if  these  are  in 
fact  the  elements,  then  usury  has  no  standing  in 
equity  and  must  be  condemned  by  every  enlightened 
conscience. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

USURY  IN  HISTORY. 

It  would  require  volumes  to  fully  present  the 
history  of  usury.  A  very  brief  summary  must  suffice 
in  this  place.  Yet  this  synopsis  may  serve  as  a  guide 
to  those  who  may  wish  to  pursue  the  investigation 
further  and  who  have  access  to  any  considerable 
library  of  general  and  ecclesiastical  history. 

The  exacting  of  usury  has  always  been  more  or  less 
practiced,  and  there  has  always  been  a  contention 
against  it  as  impolitic  and  wrong.  In  heathendom 
the  philosophers  and  economists  and  common  people 
were  usually  arrayed  against  it,  and  the  voice  of  Chris- 
tendom has  been  practically  unanimous  in  its  denun- 
ciation until  the  17th  century.  (For  History  of  Usury 
in  the  Church,  see  Chapter  X.) 

Greece:  Greece  had  no  laws  forbidding  usury. 
The  trade  in  money  was  left,  like  the  trade  in  every 
thing  else,  without  legal  restraint.  The  law  declared 
that  the  usurer  should  not  demand  a  higher  rate  than 
that  fixed  by  the  original  contract;  it  also  advised 
"Let  the  usury  on  money  be  moderate."  One  per 
cent,  per  month  was  the  usual  rate. 

There  were  among  the  Greeks  at  various  times 
thoughtful  men,  who  violently  opposed  the  taking  of 

258 


Usury  in  History.  259 

increase.  Solon,  of  aristocratic  blood,  but  with  strong 
sympathies  for  the  oppressed  classes,  led  a  Nehemiah- 
like  reformation.  Solon  was  wise  and  patriotic. 
His  name  is  a  synonym  for  unselfish  devotion  to  the 
public  good.  He  was  given  authority  in  Greece  in 
times  of  great  financial  distress.  Debts  were  increas- 
ing. Mortgage  stones  were  erected  at  the  borders  of 
each  tract  of  land,  giving  the  name  of  the  creditor  and 
the  amount  of  his  claim.  The  interest  could  not  be 
paid.  Interest  taking  had  concentrated  the  wealth 
and  power  of  the  state  in  a  few  hands.  The  farmer 
lost  all  hope  and  was  only  a  laborer  on  the  farm  he 
once  owned.  The  debtor  who  had  no  farm  to  work  for 
his  creditor  was  yet  in  a  worse  condition ;  he  was  the 
mere  slave  of  his  creditor  and  could  be  sold  by  him. 
The  free  farmers  were  fast  disappearing.  The  most 
of  them  were  struggling  with  miserable  poverty. 
Solon  at  once  came  to  the  relief  of  this  suffering  class. 
He  released  those  who  were  enslaved  and  brought 
back  those  who  had  been  sold  abroad.  The  great 
work  of  Solon  for  this  oppressed  class  has  caused  his 
name  to  be  revered  by  all  who  have  studied  the 
history  of  his  times. 

Plato  opposed  usury,  but  he  does  not  give  extended 
reasons.  Also  the  philosopher,  Aristotle.  His  name 
is  yet  illustrious  in  the  departments  of  natural  and 
moral  science  and  economics.  With  regard  to  usury 
he  said:  "Of  all  modes  of  accumulation,  the  worst 
and  most  unnatural  is  interest.  This  is  the  utmost 


260      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

corruption  of  artificial  degeneracy;  standing  in  the 
same  relation  to  commerce  that  commerce  does  to 
economy.  By  commerce  money  is  perverted  from 
the  purpose  of  exchange  to  that  of  gain ;  still  this  gain 
is  occasioned  by  the  mutual  transfer  of  different 
objects;  but  interest,  by  transferring  merely  the  same 
object  from  one  hand  to  another  generates  money 
from  money,  and  the  product  thus  generated  is  called 
offspring  (toxos)  as  being  precisely  the  same  nature 
as  that  from  which  it  proceeds." 

Rome:  In  the  early  ages  of  Rome  there  were  no 
laws  regulating  the  loans  of  money.  The  practice 
was  common  and  was  one  of  the  most  frequent  sub- 
jects of  popular  complaint.  In  the  celebrated 
secession  of  the  lower  classes  of  the  people  to  Mons 
Sacer,  when  civil  strife  and  fraternal  bloodshed  was 
threatened,  the  loudest  outcry  was  against  the  oppres- 
sion of  exhorbitant  interest  exacted  by  wealthy  citi- 
zens of  those  who  were  obliged  to  borrow.  The  com- 
mon rate  was  twelve  per  cent,  per  annum.  This  is 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  six  per  cent,  was  called  half 
interest  and  three  per  cent,  one-fourth  interest. 

The  early  records  of  Rome  prove  conclusively  the 
odium  attached  to  the  business  of  money-lending  for 
profit.  In  the  codification  of  laws  in  the  fifth  century 
B.  C.  the  rate  of  usury  was  fixed  at  one  per  cent,  per 
month.  This  limitation  of  usury  was  enacted  after  a 
long  and  bitter  contest  between  the  rich  lenders  and 
the  poorer  classes. 


Usury  in  History.  261 

A  compromise  seems  to  have  been  made  in  the 
assigned  punishments.  The  laws  for  the  collection 
of  debts  and  the  punishment  of  exacting  more  than 
the  law  permitted  were  alike  extremely  cruel. 

The  creditors  of  an  insolvent  debtor  were  given  the 
power  of  cutting  his  body  in  pieces  and  the  power  of 
selling  his  children  into  slavery.  The  penalty  of 
taking  more  than  this  legal  interest  was  punished  with 
more  severity  than  theft.  The  thief  must  restore 
double,  but  the  usurer  must  restore  fourfold.  This 
we  learn  from  Cato's  treatise  on  "Agriculture." 
Cato's  own  opinion  of  usury  is  shown  in  the  answer 
which  he  made  when  he  was  asked  what  he  thought 
of  usury,  his  reply  was,  "What  do  you  think  of 
murder?" 

Nearly  a  hundred  years  later  the  Licinian  law  for- 
bade all  increase.  A  little  later  we  find  the  one-half  of 
one  per  cent,  permitted  by  law.  Then  under  Sylla 
the  legal  rate  is  made  three  per  cent.  In  the  time  of 
Antony  and  Cleopatra  it  is  four  per  cent.  For  a  time 
there  was  utter  confusion  and  intolerably  oppressive 
rates  prevailed.  Horace,  in  his  Satires,  speaks  of 
one  lending  at  sixty  per  cent.  In  the  reign  of 
Tiberius  Caesar,  Rome  was  again  shaken  with  another 
usury  sedition,  an  uprising  of  the  people  against  the 
usurers.  The  law  was  finally  adjusted  in  the  Justinian 
Code,  by  a  compromise  permitting  six  per  cent,  and 
severely  restraining  the  exorbitant  rates. 

Three  hundred  and  twenty-three  years  B.  C,  Livy 


262      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

speaks  of  a  creditor  who  kept  his  debtor  in  irons, 
claiming,  besides  the  debt,  the  interest  which  he  ex- 
acted with  greatest  severity.  It  was  soon  after  de- 
creed that  this  cruelty  should  end  and  that  no  citizen 
should  be  placed  in  irons  or  sold  into  slavery  for  debt. 

At  the  close  of  the  republic  the  rate  was  twenty- 
four  per  cent. 

England :  In  the  earliest  periods  of  which  we  have 
any  records  we  find  that  the  doctrine,  that  letting 
money  to  hire  was  sinful,  prevailed  universally  over 
the  island  of  Great  Britain.  It  was  the  prevailing 
opinion  that  interest,  or  usury,  as  it  was  then  called, 
was  unjust  gain,  forbidden  by  divine  law,  and  which 
a  good  Christian  could  neither  receive  nor  pay.  In 
common  law  the  practice  of  taking  increase  was 
classed  among  the  lowest  crimes  against  public 
morals.  So  odious  was  it  among  Christians  that  the 
practice  was  confined  almost  wholly  to  the  Jews,  who 
did  not  exact  usury  of  Jews  but  of  the  Christians. 

The  laws  of  King  Alfred,  about  900  A.  D.,  directed 
that  the  effects  of  money-lenders  upon  usury  should 
be  forfeited  to  the  king,  their  lands  to  the  lords  under 
whom  they  were  held,  and  they  should  not  be  buried 
in  consecrated  ground. 

By  the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  about  1050 
A.  D.,  the  usurer  forfeited  all  his  property  and  was 
declared  an  outlaw  and  banished  from  England.  In 
the  reign  of  Henry  II,  about  the  close  of  the  twelfth 


Usury  in  History.  263 

century,  the  estates  of  usurers  were  forfeited  at  their 
death  and  their  children  were  disinherited. 

His  successor,  Richard  1,  was  yet  more  severe,  for- 
bidding the  usurers  attending  his  coronation,  nor 
would  he  protect  them  from  mob  violence. 

During  the  thirteenth  century  the  severities  against 
the  usurers  were  not  relaxed.  King  John  confiscated 
their  gathered  wealth  without  scruple.  It  is  recorded 
that  he  exacted  an  enormous  fine  of  a  Jew  in  Bristol 
for  his  usuries,  and  when  the  Jew  refused  to  pay  he 
ordered  one  of  his  teeth  to  be  drawn  daily  until  he 
should  pay.  The  Jew  is  said  to  have  endured  the 
pulling  of  seven,  but  then  weakened  and  paid  the  fine. 

Henry  III  was  equally  harsh  and  severe  in  his 
measures.  He  exacted  all  he  could  and  then  turned 
them  over  to  the  Earl  of  Cornwall.  "The  one  flayed 
and  the  other  emboweled."  It  is  written  in  the 
chronicles  of  England,  1251  A.  D.,  "By  such  usurers 
and  licentious  liurs  as  belong  to  him,  the  realme  had 
alreadie  become  sore  corrupted." 

In  the  fourteenth  century,  under  the  three  Edwards, 
the  taking  of  interest  was  an  indictable  offence  and 
Edward  IHmade  it  a  capital  crime. 

In  the  fifteenth  century,  under  Henry  VII,  the 
penalty  was  fixed  at  one  hundred  pounds  and  the 
penalty  of  the  church  added,  which  was  excommuni- 
cation. 

Attorney  General  Noy,  in  the  reign  of  James  I, 
thought  the  taking  of  money  by  usury  was  no  better 


264      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

than  taking  a  man's  life.  He  said :  "Usurers  are  well 
ranked  with  murderers." 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  under  Henry  VIII,  it  was 
enacted  that  all  interest  above  ten  per  cent,  was 
unlawful.  Less  was  not  collectable  by  law,  but  was 
not  a  punishable  offence. 

Edward  VI  revived  the  old  laws  condemning  all 
interest. 

Mary  I,  next  following,  executed  these  laws  with 
extreme  severity. 

Elizabeth  restored  the  laws  of  Henry  VIII,  in  which 
usury  less  than  ten  per  cent,  was  not  a  punishable 
offence.  This  edict  of  Elizabeth  adds:  "In  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  law  it  shall  be  largely  and  strongly 
construed  for  the  repression  of  usury." 

This  law  of  Henry  VIII  and  Elizabeth,  with  the 
rate  of  interest  reduced,  was  the  statute  law  of  Eng- 
land until  1854,  when  all  the  usury  laws  were  repealed. 

In  1694  William  and  Mary  II  entered  into  a  con- 
tract to  secure  a  permanent  loan  and  pledged  the 
kingdom  to  pay  interest  on  it  forever. 

The  loan  marked  the  turning  point  in  the  popular 
mind  with  regard  to  usury.  As  it  was  approved  in 
their  necessity  by  the  king  and  queen  at  the  head  of 
the  Protestant  world,  ecclesiastics  began  to  shift  their 
ground  and  to  apologize  for,  and  excuse,  that  which 
had  been  formerly  unequivocably  condemned.  As 
the  crown  was  the  head  of  both  the  church  and  the 


Usury  in  History.  265 

state,  the  condemnation  of  usury  seemed  tinged  both 
with  disloyalty  and  heresy.  The  courts  too  began  to 
modify  their  decisions  to  bring  them  into  harmony 
with  the  action  of  the  crown. 

The  change  in  the  usury  laws  were  not  made  by 
enactments  of  Parliament,  but  by  the  decisions  of 
courts.  The  precedents  were  gradually  accumulated 
and  the  statutes  were  merely  made  to  conform  to 
them. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

FRANCIS  BACON. 

From  the  short  dissertation  on  usury  found  in  the 
works  of  Bacon  we  learn  that  the  taking-  of  usury  was 
a  recognized  evil  and  odious  in  his  time. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  he  eliminates  risk  from  usury 
and  sees  that  "In  the  game  of  certainties  against 
uncertainties"  usury  is  sure  to  win.  It  will  be  noticed 
also  that  he  mentions  only  economic  arguments 
against  usury.  He  does  not  give  ethical  and  moral 
reasons.  He  does  not  mention  the  want  of  sympathy 
for  the  poor  and  their  oppression. 

In  his  statement  of  the  arguments  in  defence  he 
implies  that  the  usurer  is  less  grasping  than  the  man 
he  knew  who  said  "The  devil  take  this  usury." 

This  is  the  very  opposite  of  the  picture  of  the  usurer 
given  by  his  contemporary,  Shakespeare,  in  his  char- 
acter, Shylock. 

His  specious  argument  for  the  regulation  of  the 
evil  "For  some  small  matter  for  the  license"  is  familiar 
to  modern  reformers  in  connection  with  other  sins. 
He  speaks  of  the  reduction  of  the  usury  rates  as  a 
general  good  and  believes  "It  will  no  whit  discourage 
the  lender."  Wrong-doers  in  all  the  ages  have  been 
ready  to  part  with  a  portion  of  the  profits  of  an  unlaw- 
ful business  for  the  cover  of  the  authority  of  the  state. 

266 


Francis  Bacon.  267 

The  following  is  his  discussion  in  full 

OF  USURY. 

"Many  have  made  witty  invectives  against  usury. 
They  say  that  it  is  a  pity  the  devil  should  have  God's 
part,  which  is  the  tithe.  That  the  usurer  is  the 
greatest  Sabbath  breaker,  because  his  plough  goeth 
every  Sunday.  That  the  usurer  is  the  drone  that 
Virgil  speaketh  of: 

"Ignavum  fucos  pecus  a  praesepibus  arcent. 

"That  the  usurer  breaketh  the  first  law  that  was 
made  for  mankind  after  the  fall,  which  was,  in  sudore 
vultus  tui  comedes  panem  tuum;  non  in  sudore  vultus 
alieni;(m  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread — 
not  in  the  sweat  of  another's  face.)  That  usurers 
should  have  orange-tawney  bonnets,  because  they  do 
Judaize.  That  it  is  against  nature  for  money  to  beget 
money;  and  the  like.  I  say  only  this,  that  usury  is  a 
concessum  propter  duritiem  cordis;  (a  thing  allowed 
by  reason  of  the  hardness  of  men's  hearts) :  for  since 
there  must  be  borrowing  and  lending,  and  men  are 
so  hard  of  heart  as  they  will  not  lend  freely,  usury 
must  be  permitted.  Some  others  have  made  sus- 
picious and  cunning  propositions  of  banks,  discovery 
of  men's  estates  and  other  inventions.  But  few  have 
spoken  of  usury  usefully.  It  is  good  to  set  before  us 
the  incommodities  and  the  commodities  of  usury,  that 
the  good  may  be  either  weighed  out  or  culled  out; 
and  warily  to  provide,  that  while  we  make  forth  to 


268      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

that  which  is  better,  we  meet  not  with  that  which  is 
worse. 

"The  discommodities  of  usury  are,  first,  it  makes 
fewer  merchants.  For  were  it  not  for  this  lazy  trade 
of  usury,  money  would  not  lie  still,  but  would  in  great 
part  be  employed  upon  merchandising;  which  is  the 
vena  porta  of  wealth  in  a  state.  The  second,  that  it 
makes  poor  merchants.  For  as  a  farmer  can  not  hus- 
band his  ground  so  well  if  he  sit  at  a  great  rent,  so 
the  merchant  can  not  drive  his  trade  so  well,  if  he  sit 
at  great  usury.  The  third  is  incident  to  the  other 
two;  and  that  is  the  decay  of  customs  of  kings  or 
states,  which  ebb  or  flow  with  merchandising.  The 
fourth  that  it  bringeth  the  wealth  or  treasure  of  a 
realm  or  state  into  a  few  hands. 

"For  the  usurer  being  at  certainties,  and  others  at 
uncertainties,  at  the  end  of  the  game  most  of  the 
money  will  be  in  the  box ;  and  ever  a  state  flourisheth 
when  wealth  is  more  equally  spread.  The  fifth  that 
it  beats  down  the  price  of  land;  for  the  employment 
of  money  is  chiefly  either  purchasing  or  merchandis- 
ing; and  usury  waylays  both.  The  sixth,  that  it  doth 
dull  and  damp  all  industries,  improvements  and  new 
inventions,  wherein  money  would  be  stirring,  if  it 
were  not  for  this  slug.  The  last,  that  it  is  the  canker 
and  ruin  of  many  men's  estates;  which  in  process  of 
time  breeds  a  public  poverty. 

"On  the  other  side,  the  commodities  of  usury  are, 


Francis  Bacon.  269 

first,  that  howsoever  usury  in  some  respect  hindereth 
merchandising,  yet  in  some  other  it  advanceth  it;  for 
it  is  certain  that  the  greatest  part  of  trade  is  driven 
by  young  merchants  upon  borrowing  at  interest;  so 
as  if  the  usurer  either  call  in  or  keep  back  his  money, 
there  will  ensue  presently  a  great  stand  of  trade.  The 
second  is,  that  were  it  not  for  this  easy  borrowing 
upon  interest,  man's  necessities  would  draw  upon 
them  a  most  sudden  undoing;  in  that  they  would  be 
forced  to  sell  their  means  (be  it  lands  or  goods)  far 
under  foot;  and  so,  whereas  usury  doth  but  gnaw 
upon  them,  bad  markets  would  swallow  them  quite 
up.  As  for  mortgaging  or  pawning,  it  will  little 
mend  the  matter;  for  either  men  will  not  take  pawns 
without  use;  or  if  they  do,  they  will  look  precisely 
for  the  forfeiture.  I  remember  a  cruel  monied  man 
in  the  country  that  would  say:  The  devil  take  this 
usury,  it  keeps  us  from  forfeitures  of  mortagages  and 
bonds.'  The  third  and  last  is,  that  it  is  a  vanity  to 
conceive  that  there  would  be  ordinary  borrowing 
without  profit;  and  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  the 
number  of  inconveniences  that  would  ensue  if  bor- 
rowing be  cramped.  Therefore,  to  speak  of  the  abol- 
ishing of  usury  is  idle.  All  states  have  ever  had  it, 
in  one  kind  or  rate,  or  other.  So  as  that  opinion  must 
be  sent  to  Utopia. 

"To  speak  now  of  the  reformation  and  reiglement 
of  usury;  how  the  discommodities  of  it  may  be  best 
avoided,  and  the  commodities  of  it  retained.  It  ap- 


270      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

pears  by  the  balance  of  commodities  and  discom- 
modities of  usury,  two  things  are  to  be  reconciled. 
The  one,  that  the  tooth  of  usury  be  grinded  that  it 
bite  not  too  much;  the  other,  that  there  be  left  open 
a  means  to  invite  monied  men  to  lend  to  the  mer- 
chants for  the  continuing  and  quickening  of  trade. 
This  can  not  be  done  except  you  introduce  two  sev- 
eral sorts  of  usury,  a  less  and  a  greater.  For  if  you 
reduce  usury  to  one  low  rate  it  will  ease  the  common 
borrower,  but  the  merchant  will  be  to  seek  for  money. 
And  it  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  trade  of  merchandise, 
being  the  most  lucrative,  may  bear  usury  at  a  good 
rate :  other  contracts  not  so. 

"To  serve  both  intentions,  the  way  would  be  briefly 
thus:  That  there  be  two  rates  of  interest;  the  one 
free  and  general  for  all,  the  other  under  license  only, 
to  certain  persons  and  in  certain  places  of  merchan- 

*j  dising.  First,  therefore,  let  usury  in  general  be  re- 
\  duced  to  five  in  the  hundred ;  and  let  that  rate  be  pro- 
claimed free  and  current;  and,  let  the  state  shut  it- 
self out  to  take  any  penalty  for  the  same.  This  will 
preserve  borrowing  from  any  general  stop  or  dryness. 
This  will  ease  infinite  borrowers  in  the  country.  This 
will,  in  great  part,  raise  the  price  of  land,  because 
land  purchased  at  sixteen  years'  purchase  will  yield 
six  in  the  hundred  and  somewhat  more ;  whereas  this 

\  rate  of  interest  yields  but  five.  This,  by  like  reason, 
will  encourage  and  edge  industrious  and  profitable 
improvements;  because  many  will  rather  venture  in 


Francis  Bacon.  271 

that  kind  than  take  five  in  the  hundred,  especially 
having  been  used  to  greater  profit.  Secondly,  let 
there  be  certain  persons  licensed  to  lend  to  known 
merchants  upon  usury  at  a  higher  rate;  and  let  it  be 
with  the  cautions  following:  Let  the  rate  be,  even 
with  the  merchant  himself,  somewhat  more  easy  than 
that  he  used  formerly  to  pay;  for  by  that  means  all 
borrowers  shall  have  some  ease  by  this  reformation, 
be  he  merchant  or  whosoever.  Let  it  be  bank  or 
common  stock,  but  every  man  be  master  of  his  own 
money.  Not  that  I  altogether  mislike  banks,  but 
they  will  hardly  be  brooked  in  regard  of  certain  sus- 
picions. Let  the  state  be  answered  some  small  mat- 
ter for  the  license,  and  the  rest  left  to  the  lender ;  for 
if  the  abatement  be  but  small,  it  will  no  whit  dis- 
courage the  lender.  For  he,  for  example,  that  took 
before  ten  or  nine  in  the  hundred,  will  sooner  descend 
to  eight  in  the  hundred  than  give  over  his  trade  in 
usury,  and  go  from  certain  gains  to  gains  of  hazard. 
Let  these  licensed  lenders  be  in  number  indefinite, 
but  restrained  to  certain  principal  cities  and  towns  of 
merchandising;  for  then  they  will  be  hardly  able  to 
color  other  men's  monies  in  the  country.  So  as  the 
license  of  nine  will  not  suck  away  the  current  rate  of 
///five ;  for  no  man  will  lend  his  monies  far  off,  nor  put 
'  them  into  unknown  hands. 

"If  it  be  objected  that  this  doth  in  a  sort  authorize 
usury,  which  before  was  in  some  places  but  permis- 
sive ;  the  answer  is,  that  it  is  better  to  mitigate  usury 
by  declaration,  than  to  suffer  it  to  rage  by  con- 


nivance." 


(Works  of  Francis  Bacon,  Vol.  12,  Page  218.) 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
WHY  THIS  TRUTH  WAS  NEGLECTED. 

That  we  may  find  the  way  of  return,  we  must  con- 
sider the  reasons  of  our  wandering.  We  must  reverse 
our  direction  and  retrace  our  steps.  These  reasons 
are  not  occult  or  hard  to  find. 

1.  The  departure  had  its  root  in  man's  depraved 
nature.    The  natural  tendency  is  evil,  while  the  graces 
must  be  cultivated  with  great  diligence.    Evils  grow 
as  weeds  grow  in  the  garden,  as  thorns  and  thistles 
and  briers  cover  the  untended  fields.     This  evil  has 
not  been  disturbed  by  any  book  exposing  its  harm 
for  a  hundred  years,  and  it  has  been  two  hundred 
since  it  was  treated  as  a  violation  of  the  Eighth  Com- 
mandment.    This    evil,    thus    left    undisturbed,    has 
flourished  and  spread  over  all  the  world. 

2.  Two  and  three  hundred  years  ago  the  great 
doctrines  were  occupying  the  thought  of  Christen- 
dom.  The  doctrines  of  free  grace,  by  repentance  and 
an  exercise  of  faith,  were  receiving  close  attention. 
The  creeds  of  the  denominations  were  being  unfolded, 
and  their  defense  and  proof  absorbed  the  thought  of 
the  wise  and  good.     What  shall  we  believe  was  the 
question? 

3.  Other  great  evils  stood   before   the  faces  of 
those  who  labored  for  the  uplifting  of  the  race.    Prac- 

272 


Why  this  Truth  was  Neglected.  273 

tices  attached  to  the  ecclesiastics,  and  degrading  the 
organized  church,  were  flaunted  before  the  eyes  of 
those  who  stood  "for  true  faith  and  pure  living.  These 
were  attacked  with  vigor,  while  this  evil,  which  had 
been  especially  the  sin  of  the  Jew,  crept  in  and  en- 
trenched itself. 

4.  Covetousness  is  one  of  those  secret  sins  that 
may  lurk  in  the  heart  while  there  is  maintained  a  fair 
outward  life.    Few  will  admit  this  sin.    Priests  declare 
that  this  is  the  one  sin  that  is  never  voluntarily  con- 
fessed.   Usury  is  the  common  outward  activity  of  this 
inward  state,  and  when  usury  was  made  lawful  by  the 
statutes  of  the  realm,  the  voice  of  conscience  was 
silenced.    The  conscience  that  would  cry  out  in  pro- 
test against  a  rate  of  interest  forbidden  by  law,  will 
permit  the  same  rate  when  the  statutes  of  the  state 
are  changed. 

5.  Early  education  and  natural  buoyancy  have 
led  the  debtors  to  be  less  sensitive  to  the  burdens  of 
usury  upon  them. 

A  large  portion  of  our  present  arithmetic  is  taken 
up  with  percentage.  The  position  of  the  student,  in 
mind,  is  that  of  the  creditor.  This  is  presumed  in  the 
statements  of  the  problems  and  lies  in  the  thought  of 
the  student  in  all  the  calculations.  If  the  statements 
of  propositions  and  their  conclusions  were  made  to 
place  the  student  on  the  debtor  side,  then  the  study 
of  percentage  would  educate  him  to  a  horror  of  this 
sin. 


274      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  Vieiv  of  Usury. 

When  a  loan  is  made,  the  attention  of  the  borrower 
is  seldom  called  to  the  rapidity  of  increase  and  the 
dangers  of  accumulation.  If  this  were  done,  and  a 
prompt  return  of  both  principal  and  interest  required, 
at  the  end  of  the  term  the  borrower  would  soon  be 
alarmed  at  the  hopelessness  of  permanent  gain 
through  debt. 

Peter  Cooper,  it  is  said,  taught  this  lesson  to  a 
friend  who  was  talking  of  borrowing  for  six  months 
at  three  per  cent.  We  clip  the  following  story: 

"Why  do  you  borrow  money  for  so  short  a  time?" 
Mr.  Cooper  asked. 

"Because  the  brokers  will  not  negotiate  bills  for 
longer." 

"Well,  if  you  wish,"  said  Mr.  Cooper,  "I  will  dis- 
count your  note  at  that  rate  for  three  years." 

"Are  you  in  earnest?"  asked  the  would-be  bor- 
rower. 

"Certainly  I  am.  I  will  discount  your  note  for  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  three  years  at  that  rate.  Will 
you  do  it?" 

"Of  course  I  will,"  said  the  merchant. 

"Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Cooper.  "Just  sign  this  note 
for  ten  thousand  dollars,  payable  in  three  years,  and 
give  me  your  check  for  eight  hundred  dollars,  and 
the  transaction  will  be  complete." 

"But  where  is  the  money  for  me?"  asked  the  aston- 
ished merchant. 


Why  this  Truth  was  Neglected.  275 

"You  don't  get  any  money,"  was  the  reply.  "Your 
interest  for  thirty-six  months  at  three  per  cent,  per 
month  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  eight  per  cent, 
or  ten  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars.  Therefore, 
your  check  for  eight  hundred  dollars  just  makes  us 
even." 

There  has  come  to  this  table,  a  letter  recently  sent 
by  a  wise  uncle  to  his  nephew,  who  sought  from  him 
his  first  loan.  Usually  the  interest  is  minimized  while 
the  hopeful  youth  is  permitted  to  indulge  his  dreams 
of  fancied  good,  to  be  easily  gained  by  a  loan. 

"My  Near  Nephew: 

"I  enclose  a  draft  for  forty  dollars  with  a  note  for 
the  amount  to  me,  due  in  one  year  at  six  per  cent., 
which  please  sign  and  return  to  me.  This  is  probably 
the  first  note  that  you  have  ever  given,  and  there 
are  one  or  two  things  about  a  note  that  maybe  you 
have  never  discovered.  One  striking  peculiarity  is, 
that  they  always  come  due,  though  they  are  drawn 
for  a  year.  It  may  seem  a  long  time,  but  when  you 
have  a  note  come  due  at  the  end  of  the  year  it  seems 
altogether  too  short  and  has  gone  before  you  are 
aware  of  it.  Another  peculiar  thing  is,  that  while  in- 
terest is  a  little  thing  apparently,  yet  it  never  works 
on  the  eight-hour  system,  but  continues  steadily 
through  the  whole  twenty-four,  and  through  the 
whole  seven  days  in  the  week.  Its  about  the  most 
industrious  animal  of  my  acquaintance,  working 
nights  and  Sundays  as  well,  and  apparently  never  be- 


276      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

coming  in  the  least  fatigued,  consequently,  though  it 
appears  to  be  so  slow,  still  if  you  do  not  watch  it 
closely,  the  first  thing  you  know  you  will  be  aston- 
ished at  what  an  amount  of  work  it  has  accomplished. 
There  are  other  things  equally  striking  about  notes, 
but  these  two  are  the  most  important,  and  the  ones 
I  particularly  wish  to  impress  on  your  mind. 


"P.  S. — Don't  think  from  the  tone  of  this  that  I'm 
not  willing  to  let  you  have  the  money.  I  merely 
want  to  impress  on  you  what  it  means  to  go  in  debt." 

6.  The  evil  was  not  hitherto  so  much  felt.  This, 
especially,  is  true  in  the  United  States.  Great  natural 
resources,  unclaimed  wealth,  made  the  burden  of  a 
small  debt  unfelt.  By  appropriating  the  vast  un- 
broken forests  and  untilled  lands  and  unopened  mines 
of  precious  metals,  of  coal  and  iron  and  gas  and  oil, 
there  seemed  such  evident  advantages  from  the  bor- 
rowed capital  that  the  evils  were  unnoticed,  until 
these  natural  resources  had  been  appropriated  and 
were  held  in  private  hands,  and  the  opportunities  are 
found  to  be  denied  those  who  have  come  so  closely 
after. 

This  system  made  it  possible  for  one  generation  to 
grasp  a  continent;  to  grasp  all  its  natural  resources 
and  hold  them,  and  compel  tribute  from  all  that  came 
after.  Taking  only  a  limited  and  short-time  view, 
the  advantages  seemed  great  and  the  evils  small.  But 


Why  this  Truth  was  Neglected.  277 

looking   at   the  welfare  of  the  generations   its    evils 
might  have  been  clearly  discerned. 

7.  The  evil  was  never  before  so  great.     The  vast 
accumulations  of  wealth,  so  sure  to  follow  the  opera- 
tion of  usury,  was  hitherto  unknown.     Corporations, 
combinations   for   the   handling   of   great   interests, 
grasping  the  natural  resources  and  monopolizing  the 
natural  wealth,  gaining  franchises  covering  a  monop- 
oly of  privileges  in  transportation,  light  and  commu- 
nication by  the  telephone  or  telegraph,  are  compara- 
tively recent. 

8.  The  first  appearance  of  indebtedness  is  a  seem- 
ing, but  false,  prosperity.    The  young  man  who  takes 
possession  of  a  tract  of  land  and  then,  with  borrowed 
capital,  improves  it,  building  his  house  and  his  barns 
and  his  permanent  buildings,  and  stocking  it  with 
animals  that  please  his  taste,  has  the  appearance  of 
abounding  prosperity,  but  as  the  unending  grind  of 
usury   continues,    these,  he  comes  to  feel,    are    but 
weights  to  which  he  is  chained,  and  in  an  agony  of 
sweat  he  is  compelled  to  wear  out  his  life. 

A  city  incurring  debt  is  seemingly  prosperous. 
Bonds  are  issued  for  the  erection  of  attractive  public 
buildings,  for  the  paving  of  muddy  streets,  for  the 
beautifying  of  public  parks.  These  bond  issues  are 
signs  of  the  prosperity  of  only  one  class,  the  usurers. 
The  ultimate  burden  is  upon  the  laborers,  who  must 
pay  every  bond,  interest  and  principal. 

9.  The  opponents  of  usury  have  not  always  been 


278      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

wise.  They  have  indulged  in  bitter  invective  rather 
than  solid  argument.  The  language  of  the  fathers, 
especially,  was  unqualified  in  severity. 

When  the  absurdity  and  unmitigated  evil  of  usury 
is  seen,,  and  one  feels  that  adequacy  requires  superla- 
tives, it  is  not  easy  to  restrain  language  and  use  mild 
terms.  The  divine  prohibition  was  so  clear  and  the 
effects  so  oppressive,  especially  to  the  poor,  that  it 
did  not  appear  to  the  fathers  to  require  argument. 
The  divine  authority  was  not,  therefore,  followed  up 
with  the  economic  basis  or  reasons  for  the  pro- 
hibitions. 

Usury  crept  in  because  it  was  not  barred  out  by 
the  sound  reasoning  of  those  who  knew  its  evils.  The 
vituperations  were  ignored  as  the  rantings  of  ill-bal- 
anced minds. 

10.  Like  every  other  wrong,  it  feeds  upon  itself. 
The  very  conditions  it  produces  fosters  and  promotes 
its  growth.  At  first  directing  effort  and  thought  along 
material  lines,  ultimately  the  ideals  become  groveling. 
The  purposes  of  a  worthy  life  and  the  characteristics 
of  a  noble  manhood  are  perverted.  There  comes  a 
wrong  idea  of  true  greatness.  There  arises  a  false 
measure  of  manhood.  That  measure  is  wealth,  and 
of  all  the  grounds  of  distinction  among  men,  wealth 
is  the  most  sordid.  Success  is  accumulation  of 
wealth.  Prosperity  is  getting  rich.  Whatever  else  a 
man  may  accomplish  in  life,  if  he  remains  poor  he  is 
accounted  a  failure.  Yet  to  this  pass,  such  a  pass, 


Why  this  Truth  was  Neglected.  279 

have  we  come,  that  our  national  and  age  character- 
istic is  that  of  material  gain,  commonly  called  com- 
mercialism. This  was  not  the  thought  of  our  fathers 
who  subordinated  material  gain  to  the  development 
of  noble  manhood.  This  is  a  perversion  of  our  Amer- 
ican traditions,  and  is  a  menace  to  better  development 
of  the  individual  and  of  the  state. 

11.  Wrong  laws  mislead  the  judgment  and  per- 
vert the  conscience.  If  there  is  a  want  of  harmony 
between  the  moral  and  statute  law  when  selfish  inter- 
ests are  served,  the  moral  law  will  be  ignored.  State 
laws  ease  the  conscience  that  would  be  otherwise 
troubled.  The  rate  of  usury  fixed  by  a  state  is  used 
as  a  moral  guide.  When  the  legal  rate  is  six  per  cent, 
it  is  wrong  to  take  eight,  but  when  the  legal  rate  is 
ten  per  cent,  then  it  is  not  wrong  to  take  ten.  The 
familiarity  of  our  people  with  laws  recognizing  and 
enforcing  interest  rates  has  perverted  their  ideas  of 
right  and  justice  by  substituting  the  statute  for  the 
divine  moral  law.  But  state  laws  can  also  trouble  the 
conscience  that  is  at  ease  and  be  a  teacher  of  right- 
eousness. Let  the  ancient  laws  forbidding  usury  be 
placed  upon  our  statute  books  and  enforced,  and  it 
would  not  be  half  a  generation  till  the  conscience  and 
reason  both  approved. 

Nothing  in  history  more  shocked  the  conscience  of 
Christendom  than  the  compact  of  William  and  Mary 
with  usurers  in  1694.  That  was  in  direct  conflict 
with  the  teachings  and  practice  of  all  the  ages  among 


280      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

Christians.  It  has  taken  two  hundred  years  for  courts 
and  states  and  financial  institutions  to  first  dull  the 
Christian  conscience  and  then  secure  its  approval. 
The  world  now  awaits  the  coming  of  some  captain  of 
righteousness,  equal  in  authority  and  influence  in 
church  and  state,  who  will  organize  a  return  to  the 
faith  and  practice  of  the  fathers. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
CRUSHED  TRUTH  WILL  RISE  AGAIN. 

The  practice  of  usury  is  so  general,  and  it  is  appar- 
ently so  fully  approved  and  sanctioned  by  many  of 
the  most  intelligent  and  virtuous  of  our  people,  that 
those  who  believe  in  its  prohibition  and  are  disposed 
to  pessimism  may  be  utterly  discouraged. 

Truth  must  eventually  prevail.  Any  custom  or 
system  built  upon  falsehood  must  sooner  or  later 
yield.  The  house  built  upon  the  sand  must  in  time 
fall.  It  may  be  undermined  by  years  of  instruction 
and  so  gradually  give  way  that  the  date  of  its  over- 
throw can  hardly  be  determined,  or  it  may  in  its 
strength  be  taken  in  a  storm  and  fall.  The  whole 
commercial  credit  system  built  on  this  monstrous 
falsehood  must  either  crumble  or  tumble. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  was  hopeful  and  happy  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  unfavorable  conditions  of  corrup- 
tion and  alienation  from  the  truth,  for  he  was  able 
with  his  prophetic  eye  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  good 
time  coming,  when  righteousness  should  completely 
triumph.  "He  shall  teach  us  of  His  ways  and  we  shall 
walk  in  His  steps."  "With  righteousness  shall  He 
judge  the  poor."  "Righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle 
of  His  loins." 

No  prophet  has  fixed  a  date  for  the  suppression  of 

281 


282      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

usury,  yet  no  intelligent  man  of  faith,  familiar  with 
the  reforms  of  the  past,  when  as  thoroughly  en- 
trenched and  as  giant  evils  were  attacked  and  over- 
thrown, need  be  in  despair. 

We  were  enslaved  by  superstitions.  Haunted 
houses  were  numerous  and  the  bewitching  of  people 
was  frequent.  Two  hundred  arrests  for  witchcraft 
were  made  in  a  single  year,  1692,  and  twenty  of  these 
persons  were  put  to  death.  These  persecutions  were 
urged  and  defended  by  Cotton  Mather,  a  representa- 
tive of  the  highest  intelligence  and  culture  of  the 
times.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  John  Cotton, 
and  his  father  the  President  of  Harvard  College. 
Now  black  cats  and  epilepsy  inspire  no  fear,  and 
ghost  stories  do  not  now  terrify  and  unnerve  our 
children. 

Duelling  prevailed  among  men  of  honor.  Public 
opinion  made  it  compulsory  that  personal  differences 
between  gentlemen  should  be  settled  in  this  way. 
Persons  were  branded  as  cowards  who  would  not  put 
their  lives  in  jeopardy.  Few  had  the  courage  to  re- 
sist. Duels  were  common  among  the  political  leaders 
at  Washington.  Many  a  shot  rang  out  at  sunrise  in 
the  little  valley  at  Bladensburg,  the  noted  duelling 
ground.  Jackson  and  Benton  and  Clay  and  De  Witt 
Clinton  were  duellists.  After  the  killing  of  Alexander 
Hamilton  by  Aaron  Burr,  in  1804,  the  whole  country 
was  aroused  and  an  agitation  began  against  the  cus- 
tom, but  it  yielded  slowly.  In  1838  and  1841  there 


Crushed  Truth  Will  Rise  Again.  283 

were  duels  between  distinguished  congressmen.  But 
now  public  opinion  is  so  transformed  that  the  "honor- 
able and  brave"  duellist  is  a  moral  coward. 

Gambling  was  a  common  sin.  There  were  lotteries 
organized  for  the  raising  of  funds  for  state  and 
municipal  expenses.  There  were  raffles  at  church 
fairs  to  support  the  ordinances  in  the  sanctuary.  The 
rules  of  the  games  were  protected  by  the  laws  of  the 
state.  No  one  who  had  lost  in  a  game  could  recover 
by  law  unless  he  proved  that  the  rules  of  the  game 
had  not  been  followed.  The  rules  for  gambling  were 
regarded  as  legitimate  as  the  regulations  of  any  busi- 
ness. The  gambler  was  only  a  law-breaker  when  he 
"cheated."  Now  gambling  is  unlawful  in  every  state 
and  territory,  and  any  newspaper  advertising  a  lot- 
tery is  shut  out  of  our  mails.  Even  an  "honest" 
gambler  is  now  classed  among  robbers. 

Intemperance  was  rampant  through  the  eighteenth 
century  and  more  than  half  the  nineteenth.  Whisky 
was  king.  Through  a  false  physiology  it  became  the 
almost  universal  opinion  that  in  the  great  portion  of 
the  United  States  the  climate  required  the  use  of 
"ardent  spirit."  Ministers  and  all  classes  of  the  peo- 
ple were  thus  deluded,  and  almost  every  person,  adult 
or  child,  was  a  consumer. 

"Upon  rising  in  the  morning  a  glass  of  liquor  must 
be  taken  to  give  an  appetite  for  breakfast.  At  eleven 
o'clock  the  merchant  in  his  counting-room,  the  black- 
smith at  his  forge,  the  mower  in  the  hay  field,  took  a 


284      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

dram  to  give  them  strength  till  the  ringing  of  the  bell 
or  the  sounding  of  the  horn  for  dinner.  In  mid- 
afternoon  they  drank  again.  When  work  for  the  day 
was  done,  before  going  to  bed,  they  quaffed  another 
glass.  It  was  the  regular  routine  of  drinking  in  well- 
regulated  and  temperate  families.  Hospitalities  be- 
gan with  drinking.  'What  will  you  take?'  was  the 
question  of  host  to  visitor.  Not  to  accept  the  prof- 
fered hospitality  was  disrespectful.  Was  there  the 
raising  of  a  meeting  house,  there  must  be  hospitality 
for  all  the  parish:  no  lack  of  liquor;  and  when  the 
last  timber  was  in  its  place  a  bottle  of  rum  must  be 
broken  upon  the  ridge-place.  In  winter  men  drank 
to  keep  themselves  warm;  in  summer  to  keep  them- 
selves cool;  on  rainy  days  to  keep  out  the  wet,  and  on 
dry  days  to  keep  the  body  in  moisture.  Friends, 
meeting  or  parting,  drank  to  perpetuate  their  friend- 
ship. Huskers  around  the  corn-stack,  workmen  in 
the  field,  master  and  apprentice  in  the  shop,  passed 
the  brown  jug  from  lip  to  lip.  The  lawyer  drank  be- 
fore writing  his  brief  or  pleading  at  the  bar ;  the  min- 
ister, while  preparing  his  sermon  or  before  delivering 
it  from  the  pulpit.  At  weddings  bridegroom,  bride, 
groomsman,  and  guest  quaffed  sparkling  wines.  At 
funerals  minister,  friend,  neighbor,  mourner,  all  ex- 
cept the  corpse,  drank  of  the  bountiful  supply  of 
liquors  always  provided.  Not  to  drink  was  disre- 
spectful to  living  and  dead,  and  depriving  themselves 
of  comfort  and  consolation.  In  every  community 


Crushed  Truth  Will  Rise  Again.  285 

there  were  blear-eyed  men  with  bloated,  haggard 
faces ;  weeping  women,  starving  children."  (Building 
of  a  Nation.  Page  271.) 

While  "temperate"  men  were  grieved  at  the  tide 
of  wretchedness  and  protested,  they  did  not  think  it 
possible  to  get  on  without  whisky.  Dr.  Prime,  for 
so  many  years  editor  of  the  New  York  Observer,  told 
of  the  meeting  of  the  family  physician  and  the  pastor 
at  his  father's  home  in  a  case  of  severe  illness.  When 
the  physician  took  his  leave  the  pastor  followed  him 
into  the  yard,  where  they  had  a  long  consultation. 
The  pastor  was  anxiously  seeking  advice.  Three 
drinks  made  his  head  swim,  and  the  problem  was 
how  he  could  make  more  than  three  calls  and  not  be- 
come unsteady.  The  doctor  gave  directions  and  Dr. 
Prime  said  that  neither  the  minister  nor  the  physician 
thought  of  the  simple  remedy,  "not  drinking." 

It  has  taken  two  generations,  but  the  transforma- 
tion is  marvelous.  The  minister  can  now  call  in 
every  home  in  his  parish  and  never  once  have  an  op- 
portunity to  drink.  If  Rev.  John  Pierpont  was  yet 
living,  who  was  put  out  of  his  pulpit  in  Boston  by  an 
ecclesiastical  council  because  he  publicly  protested 
against  the  use  of  the  basement  of  his  church  as  a 
storeroom  for  whisky,  he  would  see  every  minister 
losing  his  pulpit  who  would  not  publicly  protest 
against  such  a  desecration.  Rev.  George  B.  Cheever, 
the  dreamer,  in  1830,  woke  up  the  stupid  consciences 
of  the  fuddled  men  and  women;  he  wrote  out  his 


286      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

dream  and  published  it,  "Deacon  Giles'  Distillery/' 
and  went  to  jail  for  it,  but  even  he  never  dreamed  of 
the  greatness  of  the  temperance  reform  that  has 
followed. 

The  overthrow  of  chattel  slavery  is  complete  and 
the  human  rights  of  the  inferior  peoples  are  recog- 
nized. Human  slavery  was  of  old,  as  ancient  as  his- 
tory ;  it  was  widespread  over  the  world ;  there  was  an 
immense  and  profitable  commerce  in  human  flesh; 
luxurious  wealth  and  ease  was  secured  by  appro- 
priating labor  without  compensation ;  it  was  thought 
that  the  Scriptures  in  both  Testaments  approved  the 
holding  of  bondmen;  there  was  a  consciousness  of 
superior  gifts;  there  was  a  firm  belief  that  the  ne- 
groes, especially,  needed  the  care  of  the  superior 
race ;  that  they  were  better  off  and  happier  than  they 
would  be  in  freedom;  there  was  a  deep-seated  race 
prejudice  that  remains  unyielding  till  this  day.  Yet 
the  slave  trade  has  ceased,  stopped  by  armed  vessels 
patroling  the  seas.  The  slaves,  eight  hundred 
thousand,  in  the  West  Indies  were  set  free;  the 
shackles  were  stricken  off  by  the  sword  in  the  United 
States;  Brazil  adopted  gradual  emancipation,  and 
chattel  slavery  disappeared  forever  from  the  civilized 
world. 

The  reform  battles  fought  and  won  are  assurances 
that  victory  shall  also  reward  those  who  contend 
against  this  sin  of  usury.  There  are  also  other  good 
grounds  for  confidence. 


Crushed  Truth  Will  Rise  Again.  287 

1.  They  are  seeking  only  a   return — a  reform: 
"a  restoration  to  a  former  state ;"  they  are  not  seeking 
for  the  establishment  of  some  new  and  untried  theory, 
but  they  are  seeking  a  return  to  the  faith  and  conduct 
of  the  righteous  from  the  beginning  and  up  seven- 
teen centuries  of  the  Christian  era.    The  race  is  but 
temporarily  deflected  to  the  worship  of  the  golden 
calf. 

2.  There  is  coming  forward  a  great  army  of  in- 
telligent, virtuous  young  people.    They  are  made  in- 
telligent by  our  high  schools,  seminaries  and  colleges. 
They  are  made  students  of  the  Bible  and  stimulated  in 
righteousness  by  Sunday  Schools,  Christian  Associa- 
tions, Endeavors,  Leagues  and  Unions.    From  these 
there  shall  rise  up  defenders  of  the  truth,  free  from  the 
burden  of  debt  and  unbiassed  by  life-long  association 
with  conditions  familiar  to  those  older.    The  reform- 
ers in  all  ages  have  been  .young,  and  this  reform  will 
be  no  exception.    There  is  a  rashness  in  youth  that 
needs  direction,  but  there  is  also  a  dash  and  hope  and 
confidence  that  is  necessary  to  break  away  from  old 
customs.     One    generation    of    intelligent,    virtuous 
young  people  could  give  this  evil  its  fatal  blow. 

Usury  cannot  flourish  among  the  vicious  and  the 
unreliable.  Other  evils  may  flourish  among  the  idle, 
the  indolent,  the  treacherous,  the  deceitful  and  the 
dishonest,  but  industry  and  economy  and  integrity 
and  faithfulness  and  honor  and  even  God-fearing 


288      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

piety  are  desirable  qualities  in  the  usurer's  victims. 
The  higher  the  civilization,  yes  Christian  civilization, 
the  more  is  produced  and  the  richer  the  harvest.  The 
usurer  has  no  use  for  a  savage.  This  worm  thrives  in 
the  living  body  and  sucks  its  vitality.  It  cannot  flour- 
ish in  putrid  flesh.  Let  the  highest  types  of  our 
young  manhood  avoid  this  sin  and  its  death  knell 
is  sounded. 

3.  Present  conditions  stimulate  an  interest  in  this 
question.    The  unequal  distribution  of  the  vast  wealth 
now    being    produced:    the    earnings    of    the    many 
turned  into  the  coffers  of  a  few;  the  struggles  be- 
tween the  employers  and  their  employees ;  organized 
labor   and  combinations  of  wealth;  lead  to  a    closer 
study  of  this  and  allied  economic  questions  than  they 
have   ever    received  before.    The  solution   of   these 
questions  will  expose  the  fraud  of  usury. 

4.  The    patriotic    spirit  has  not  decayed    in    our 
people  and  rulers.     They  are  as  strongly  attached  to 
our  free,  popular  institutions  as  were  the  patriots  of 
'76.       There  is  alarm  at  the  tendency  to  slip  away 
from   the  early  traditions,   at   the   centralization   of 
power,  at  class  legislation.     The  influence  of  usury 
is  so  strong  to  promote  a  favored  class  and  to  con- 
centrate power,  that  it  must  be  resisted  as  an  enemy 
to   our  republican  institutions.     It  gradually   under- 
mined and  then  destroyed  the  republic  of  Venice,  and 
it  is  now  doing  its  first  work  with  us.     It  must  soon 


Crushed  Truth  Will  Rise  Again.  289 

emerge  from  its  cover.  Then  our  people  will  arouse 
with  their  patriotic  fervor  and  fell  it  with  one  blow, 
and  then  bury  it  with  the  other  enemies  of  the  gov- 
ernment that  have  from  time  to  time  arisen. 

5.  In  the  studies  in  sociology  there  is  now  a 
strong  current  toward  Socialism.  There  is  a  desire 
to  preserve  the  individual's  interests  and  yet  a 
stronger  disposition  to  merge  him  in  the  general  wel- 
fare. 

There  is  a  conviction  that  the  privileges  of  indi- 
viduals have  been  unduly  guarded  while  the  rights 
of  the  public  were  neglected,  that  the  rights  of  indi- 
viduals have  received  an  excess  of  protection  while 
the  welfare  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  has  been 
sacrificed.  The  present  problem  of  the  student  of 
sociology  is,  How  can  the  rights  of  individuals  be 
adjusted,  yet  so  as  to  maintain  the  superior  interests 
of  all  the  people?  This  can  be  accomplished  largely, 
if  not  completely,  by  the  abolition  of  usury. 

Let  the  Government  receive  on  deposit  the  surplus 
wealth  of  the  individuals  for  safe  keeping  and  subject 
to  their  orders.  Let  the  Postal  Savings  Bank  be 
established.  The  Government  is  the  best  possible 
security.  The  certificates  of  deposit  would  be  as 
good  as  Government  bonds.  They  could  take  the 
place  of  the  National  Bank  currency.  The  Postal 
Department  now  transfers  money  and  in  a  manner 
receives  deposits  and  issues  postal  notes. 


290      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

These  deposits  as  they  accumulated  would  lift  from 
the  people  the  burden  of  the  interest  bearing  debt. 
As  they  increased  the  Government  could  invest  them 
in  public  utilities  to  be  operated  for  the  general  wel- 
fare. The  Government  thus  caring  for  the  surplus 
wealth  the  people  are  entitled  to  any  benefits  that 
may  accrue  from  its  use.  All  would  have  an  interest 
in  preserving  and  all  would  share  in  the  advantages 
of  the  property  thus  cared  for  by  the  State,  while 
each  would  have  his  individual  earnings  subject  to 
draft  for  his  personal  needs  or  pleasure. 

This  would  preserve  the  rights  of  the  individual 
and  secure  to  him  perfectly  his  surplus  earnings,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  whole  people,  through  the  Gov- 
ernment, would  have  the  use  of  this  accumulated 
wealth  for  its  safe-keeping.  This  will  preserve  the 
stimulating  incentives  of  individualism  and  also  gain, 
practically,  the  blessings  of  Socialism.  This  will  be 
the  natural  conclusion  in  the  balancing  and  adjust- 
ment of  the  present  sociological  discussion. 

6.  The  prohibition  of  usury  would  be  to  the  ma- 
terial advantage  of  the  great  mass  of  our  people.  It 
would  be  a  blessing  to  all,  though  it  might  hinder  the 
material  gain  of  a  few,  but  the  hindered  would  not  be 
a  tithe  of  our  people.  It  is  not  easy  to  forsake  the 
wrong  when  appetite  or  passion  or  selfish  interests 
plead  for  it.  The  martyrs  who  will  stand  by  the  right 
"though  the  heavens  fall"  are  not  a  majority  of  our 


Crushed  Truth  Will  Rise  Again.  291 

people.  The  paths  of  righteousness  are  easy,  broad 
and  smooth,  and  crowded  with  enthusiastic  shouters 
when  self-interest  can  walk  hand  in  hand  with  a  re- 
form. Opposition  to  usury  is  self-defense  to  the  poor, 
the  pensioners,  the  producers,  and  they  form  a 
mighty,  irresistible  army. 

7.  Reason  remains.    The  laws  of  logic  have  not 
changed  nor  has  the  human  mind  lost  its  power  of 
tracing  premises  to  their  conclusion.    The  custom  of 
usury  was  never  reasoned  into  practice,  but  was  per- 
mitted to  creep  in  while  reason  was  diverted  to  ab- 
stract,  abstruse,   scholastic  subjects   by  those  who 
claimed  to  be  scholars.     Had  the  fathers  reasoned 
more  about  practical  subjects,  and  scolded  less,  this 
sin  would  never  have  appeared  in  Christian  society 
and  claimed  respectability.     When  the  people  begin 
to  think  and  to  turn  their  reasoning  powers  to  this 
subject,  as  light  dispels  darkness,  this  gross  error 
will  flee  away. 

8.  The   conscience   is  yet  alert  to   condemn   the 
wrong  and  to  approve  the  right.     The  public  con- 
science was  never  more  tender  nor  more  delicately 
adjusted,  but  it  is  wanting  in  intelligence  in  this  mat- 
ter.    The  eye  cannot  see  to  determine  the  nature  of 
an  object  without  light,  so  the  conscience  must  be 
enlightened,  or  made  intelligent  by  the  reason,  to 
enable  it  to  give  a  right  decision.     Conscience  is  the 
same   in   all  ages  among  all  peoples,  and   when   in- 


292      Scriptural,  Ethical  and  Economic  View  of  Usury. 

formed  by  investigation  and  reasoning,  the  condem- 
nation of  usury  will  be  as  unanimous  as  in  the  cen- 
turies of  the  past. 

Prayer  is  also  a  means  to  this  righteous  end.  God 
is  still  on  His  throne.  His  ear  is  not  heavy.  He  hears 
the  cry  of  the  raven  and  sparrows  and  lions.  He 
hears  the  cry  of  His  suffering  children  and  will  not 
fail  to  come  to  their  relief.  In  all  the  past,  man's  ex- 
tremity has  been  God's  opportunity.  Relief  has  come 
at  unexpected  times  and  by  ways  that  were  not 
known.  Sometimes  by  means  that  were  insignificant 
and  inadequate  in  order  to  show  that  it  was  not  by 
human  might  or  power ;  sometimes  by  the  faith  of  one 
humble  believer. 

This  writer  has  been  familiar  with  the  story  of 
David  and  Goliath  from  his  infancy.  To  him,  Mam- 
mon, whose  head  is  usury,  is  the  giant  Philistine  who 
now  stalks  forth  to  defy  "the  armies  of  the  living 
God/'  and  with  a  grain  of  David's  faith,  he  flings  this 
stone. 


UtHIVSRSiTY 


or 


INDEX 

Page 

Abstinence    255 

Agar — Prayer  of   219 

American   Revision    87 

American   Statesman    172 

Aristotle   132,  259 

Average  Interest   135 

Bank  of  England 184,  195 

Bank  of  Venice 193 

Bank,  First  in  U.  S 198 

Banks  and   Brokers 161 

Bacon 108,  180,  26« 

Banking,    Claim   for 56 

Barriers  Broken  Down 45 

Borrower 62 

Borrowing    241 

Benton,   Thomas   H 199 

Bankruptcy    176 

Basil    169 

Beza    71 

Biible  and  Nature 93 

Bible  Encyclopedia  8,  21 

Block  Stone 10 

Brotherhood— Christian    47 

Bush,   Prof.   Geo 14 

Bureau  of  Engraving 123 

Capital   Combines   -  223 

Catechism    233 

Cato    261 

Car  Fares 164 

Calvin,    Institutes   of 78 

Calvin,   Letter  of 73,   162,  248 

Calhoun,  J.   C 199 

Capital    Demands    165 

Cretan    Bonds    204 

Chalmers    62 

(293) 


294  INDEX— CONTINUED. 

Page 

Charlemagne    70 

Changed    Conditions 81 

Chattel   Slave    147 

Character    in    Fathers 206 

Cheever,   Rev.    Geo 286 

Creeds    272 

Croesus    218 

Covetousness    61,  214,  273 

Cooper   Anecdote    274 

City  Deibts   ...140,  168 

Criminal  in  Court  127 

Coachman Ill 

Chrysostom    69 

Christ-like    Soul 42 

Council    of   Ten 195 

Cyrus   36 

David 26 

Debts,    Dicharged ' 63 

Debts,    Stimulated 138 

Deibts,    Church 141 

Debts,   National   142,  189 

Decay,    Limits 136 

Deposit  or  Loan 105 

Diligence    60 

Disciples,  Practice  of 58 

Deacon    Giles'    Distillery 286 

Dives    ; 218 

Doge,   The 194 

Dueling    282 

Edward   III 263 

Edward    VI 264 

England,    History 262 

English    People ^  . .  192 

Elizabeth 264 

Esau's  Abstinence  256 

Equality    Impossible •.  222 

Ethics  in  Bible 94 

Equity   Between   Thieves 160 


INDEX— CONTINUED  295 

Page 

Exchanges    56 

Express    Company 118 

Extravagance    155 

Ezekiel's  Protests 31 

Ezra 36 

Family   Economy 154 

Farm  Preserved  135,  247 

Farm    Consumed 246 

Faithful    Steward 117 

Fathers,  Apostolic   69,  80 

Fathers,  Later  70,  80 

Financial    Slavery    150 

Force  in  Abstract 99 

Fishers'    Catechism 235 

Freight    Rates 109 

"Golden    Book" 194 

Gambling    283 

Giving    51 

Gravity    Levels 222 

Great    Enterprises 239 

Greek   Artist 216 

Greece    History 258 

Guile,    Taken   by 104 

Hebrews  in   Egypt 212 

Henry    II 262 

Henry    III 263 

Henry    VII 263 

Henry    VIII 264 

Hindoo    Widow 24 

Honesty    Hindered 210 

Hodge,  Dr.   Charles 237 

Home   Wanted 251 

Horace    261 

Human    Nature 81 

Hume    192 

Incorporated    Properties 171 

Industry    Discouraged 207 


296  INDEX— CONTINUED 

Page 

Indians,  Omahas   , 244 

Injustice,    Submitted 120 

Interest  Defined   9 

Insurance   Company   119,  254 

Interest,    Compound 180 

Installment    Plan 140 

Intemperance    283 

Jackson,    Andrew 200 

Jefferson,  Thos 200 

Jennet,    M 182 

Jeremy  Bentham   113 

Jeremiah    Protests 30 

Jubilee,   Year  of 45 

Justinian    Code 261 

King   Alfred 262 

Khedive    203 

Land  Question 249 

Lombards .>. : 195 

London    Tenants 169 

Luther   71 

Macauley    196 

Machinery,    Improved 226 

Mammon  203,  221 

Melancthon    71 

Messiah's    Character 42 

Moral  Law 82 

Milton    145,   203 

Minuits,  PeU  r  181 

Middle    Classes 220 

Mons  Sacer  260 

Money  Barren    83,   122 

Moses    57 

Mosaic  Laws  11,  14 

McCullough,  Sec 201 

Nature  and   Bible 93 

Nehemiah  36,  40,  57,  63 

Nile   Worship 214 

Obsolete  Words  .  7 


INDEX— CONTINUED  297 

Page 

One  Cent  Loaned 182 

Ottoman   Empire 212 

Over-production    156 

Panics 187 

Paul   to   Timothy 59 

Paulist   Fathers 65 

Pounds,  Parable  of 54 

Peel,   Sir  Robert 196 

Physicians'    Charges 115 

Poor    Richard 240 

Poor,    Oppressed 154 

Poor,  to  the  Spirit 48 

Popes 70 

Polygamy    85 

Production,    Limited 158 

Promoter 161 

Prime,    Dr 285 

Rates,   Differ  Why 108 

Rentals   of   Land 243 

Revolution    238 

Ridpath   71 

Rich  Fool   49,  137 

Rights,    Personal 98 

Rights,    Equal 102 

Risk    253 

Robe "Ill 

Rome,    History 250 

Ruskin  72,  156,  255 

Sands,  Bishop 70 

Sabbath  of  Rest  85,   171 

Shoff,    Herzog    8,   69 

Scripture  Passages: 

Genesis  21:  26   7 

Exodus  32 : 1   ". 7 

Exodus  22:  25 13,  20 

Leviticus    19:33,    34 21 

Leviticus  22:22 19 

Leviticus  23:23  .  ,22 


298  INDEX— CONTINUED 

Page 
Scripture  Passages: 

Leviticus  34: 10   22 

Deut.  5:14 24 

Deut.   25:19   17 

Deut.   15: 7-9   44 

Numbers  15:  15  16,  19 

Joshua  9:  23  22 

Psalm  15 26 

Psalm   92    7 

Psalm   112: 1-3    15 

Proverbs  22:  4 15 

Proverbs  28:  20 15,  27 

Jeremiah  31 :  29 32 

Isaiah   10:15    101 

Ezekiel  24: 15-18   31 

Ezekiel  22: 7-12    31 

Ezekiel   18:  117    33 

Matthew  5: 17  43 

Matthew  6:  12   ' 45 

Matthew    13:22    48 

Matthew    19:24    49 

Matthew  25 : 14  52 

Luke  6:  35   44 

Luke  51:  52,  53  47 

Luke  19: 12 52 

John  15: 12  46 

John    13:34    46 

Romans   1:13 7 

Romans  13:  8  62 

Acts  3:17   , 7 

Acts  2:  44,  45 58 

1  Corinthians  1 :  27,  28 58 

1    Corinthians    13 8 

Ephesians    4:28    60 

1  Thess.  4:  15 7 

1  Timothy  5:8 59 

James  5:1-6  61 

Slaves,    Haippy X 148 

Slaves,    Chattel 286 


INDEX— CONCLUDED  299 

Page. 

Self    Reliance 211 

Strangers,  Three  Classes 18 

Shoe   Plant 128 

Shylock   121,  195 

Slot   Machines 104 

Solomon  and  Usury 27,  144 

Solon    218,  259 

Socialism 289 

Spirituality    Destroyed 216 

Stevens,    Thadeus 201 

Strikes    227 

Sultan 203 

Sun   Worship    214 

Superstitions    282 

Taxes  Off  the  Poor 168 

Tenantry    250 

"The   Hague" 230 

Talents,  Parable  of 52 

Thrift    51,  209 

Time    107,  254 

Temptation   to   Upright 149 

Timon  of  Athens 146 

Tools,    Not   Productive 135 

Trade,  Profits  in , 124 

Trusts    186,  224 

Usury,    Definition 8 

Usury  and  the  Stranger 18 

Valet 145 

Venice    ' 193 

Vienna,    Council   of 70 

War,  Evils  of 229 

Webster,  Definition 9 

Wealth  Decays 132 

Wealth,    Barren 131 

William  and  Mary 195,  264,  279 

Wilson's    Catechism 233 

Wrong   Laws 279 

Young    Reformers 187 

Zacheus    49 

Zerubbabel    j 36 


The  Anti-Usury  League, 

The  object,  the  purpose  and  work 
of  the  Anti-Usury  League  is  to  expose 
the  evils,  the  oppressions,  the  fraud 
and  the  sin  of  usury  or  interest,  "by 
publications,  "by  lectures,  by  con- 
ventions and  by  every  other  practi- 
cal method. 

All  persons  in  sympathy  with  this 
object,  and  who  can  in  any  way  co- 
operate by  distributing  its  litera- 
ture or  by  other  publications  or  by 
lecturing  or  by  arranging  for  lec- 
tures or  conventions,  are  requested 
to  enter  into  correspondence. 

Also  all  persons  who  have  become 
interested  by  reading  the  preceding 
pages  and  who  seek  further  infor- 
mation and  who  desire  to  keep  in 
touch  with  the  work  of  this  League 
should  send  their  names  and  addresses 
for  enrollment . 

THE  ANT I -USURY  LEAGUE, 

Millersburg,  Ohio. 


7201 


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